Into The Woods
by abysmal2218
Summary: Jack is the Guardian of Fun and the winter spirit. Clementia is the goddess of mercy and compassion. They belong to different families which means they cannot be friends. But what are they supposed to do when they realize who they both were in their past lives? Jack X OC
1. Chapter 1

Jack said he would be back shortly. She believed him, like she always did. He was a trickster, but he never lied. Not to her, anyway. It was almost evening and she wanted to make it a night for just them. It was a rarity for them to be able to spend an evening alone. He came over to her house, smiling as brightly as he always did, inviting her to go ice skating with him and his sister. She declined; she had had things to do before their planned arrangement. He had kissed her chastely on the forehead, telling her he loved her and that he would be back.

He was supposed to be back.

She saw his sister running, loud sobs escaping her lips as she ran towards her house. Maybe Jack had played a horrible trick on her. Usually he kept the hurtful ones for someone other than his dearest sister, but maybe he changed his mind. She stood in front of her door, waiting for him to come running from the woods chasing after her and laughing. She waited, but he never came. After a moment, his sister came back out of the house, pulling their mother back into the woods. The sun was nearly set now and the woods were dark, frightening at night.

She continued to wait, but she was curious. Their mother never interfered with their games.

That was what she liked best about Jack. He was still young at heart and liked to play games with all of the kids. He liked laughing and never taking anything too seriously. She, however, was always serious and never liked to play. She was fourteen when Jack pushed her into the pond during the summer. She yelled and screamed at him, not believing the immature Overland boy would do such a thing. He didn't even flinch at her words. He just smiled brightly and laughed. She climbed her way out of the pond, still cursing him. She didn't see him climb the tree and she certainly didn't see him jump from the branch, causing her to fall back into the water.

The other kids were standing around the pond, laughing as she fought against him. Why was she his new target? She had never even said a word to him their entire lives even though he was a year older than her. She knew him by reputation, obviously. She stayed away from him and the fun he always had. She never thought of having fun. She had to prim herself to become the perfect wife and mother for her future. There was no time for fun. She did like the younger kids, though. She liked to tell them stories around the large fires at night. That was the small amount of fun she allowed herself. She knew all of the stories that her mother told her by heart and she liked to tell the younger kids too. Every so often, Jack would sit and listen to them too, but he was always so restless that he never stuck around to hear the end. She didn't care because she still had the younger kids.

Three years after the pond incident, they had fallen in love. She didn't understand it, but she wasn't about to fight it. They were opposites that complimented each other. He was one of the few that could make her laugh. It felt so good to laugh at his jokes.

Slowly, the sun sank behind the trees and the Earth, casting the ominous darkness over them. Her curiosity was getting the better of her now. His sister and mother had not returned yet. Jack hadn't appeared from the woods either. She left her home, hands held tightly in front of her as she walked into the trees. Darkness be damned. She crept closer to the pond and listened, hoping to hear his mother lecturing him about scaring his sister. There were no words, only sobs. People were crying. She walked closer, finally seeing his sister and mother enveloped into a tight embrace and crying furiously. There was no sign of Jack. She looked out towards the pond, hoping he was still skating across it. It was frozen and empty. However, she saw a black spot in the ice, a stick lying close by it. What had happened?

She moved closer to the pond, almost in front of his family members when she heard his sister gasp. She turned slightly to see her, but then felt the little girl's arms wrap around her waist and tears soaking through her dress.

"He's gone." The little girl sobbed. "He's gone."

She was stunned, not sure if she had heard the girl correctly, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

"He fell through the ice!" She squealed, crying harder now.

She couldn't reply, but let her mouth hang open. He fell? He fell through the ice? Her mind was reeling and trying to make sense of it all. It took her several moments to find her voice again. She knelt down, looking Jack's sister in the eyes and asked for details. Surely Jack was just playing another trick.

"The ice was cracking—he played hopscotch—pulled me away from the cracking ice—he fell in!" She sobbed, large tears leaking wildly from her eyes.

She didn't need to hear any more. She had burst into tears with the little the girl had said. Arms were around both of them suddenly, which startled her. His mother had knelt down next to them, hugging and crying with them. She couldn't believe it. She lost her love. The love of her life was gone. There would be no more humor in her life; no more pranks or tricks; no more jokes that only he would tell her just to make her smile because he knew he was the only that could.

They stayed like that for, what seemed like, hours. They cried and held onto each other as if their love for him would bring him back. She sat there, crying and praying for him to come back. She prayed that it was just a bad joke. She wanted to wake up in the morning and find him playing outside in the snow, laughing loudly with his sister. She wanted to watch him chop the wood that was his daily chore at the break of dawn. She just wanted to see his amber eyes one last time and hear his deep, but childish laugh again.

Eventually, they broke away, unable to cry any longer. They had to go back to their homes. It was night and getting colder by the minute. She staggered as she stood, wiping her eyes and trying to catch her breath. She looked back at the pond and saw that the hole was freezing over again. She'd have cried again if she hadn't used up all of her tears. She had to accept it; she had to accept that he really was gone and she would never be able to see him again.

The women silently made their way out of the woods and heading in their own direction. She heard his mother clear her throat suddenly, making her turn around and face the woman. She wiped at her eyes again, trying to keep her composure.

"He was going to ask you to marry him tonight. He was so excited about it. You would have made a lovely daughter." His mother said, tears leaking from her eyes again.

She didn't know where they came from, but more tears escaped her and she ran back into the woman's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three years since that catastrophic night. Three years and she was finally feeling like she was able to move on. It was hard to do. It was hard to feel as if she would be able to wake up in the mornings. It was hard to not cry randomly throughout the day. It was still hard to complete menial tasks, but somehow she found herself doing it. The sadness lessened as time went on. She watched as his sister grew up and slowly forgot about her brother. She watched as his mother ignored the empty feeling inside her house. It didn't take them nearly as long to forget that he had existed. She still hurt so much and knowing that everyone else had forgotten the menacing trickster, broke her heart even more. He wasn't someone to forget. He was someone to be remembered and rejoiced. He needed to be praised for his heroism and jests. Why wasn't anyone else seeing this?

Three years and she was able to put up a façade that she had forgotten him like all the others. Three years and she could walk outside and smile at her neighbors as if her heart were not still in pieces.

Tonight, however, was not the night to pretend she had forgotten him. No, someone had proposed to her earlier and it shattered, no, destroyed her heart into millions of pieces. This was not the man she was supposed to be with. She had always been meant for Jackson. She knew she was supposed to forget and move on. She knew it, but she would never really move on. She would always love him and always remember all of his jokes; the secret ones that he would make just so she would smile her rare smile. No one made her smile now. Not even her soon-to-be husband. What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't possibly tell him no because she was still in love with her fallen love. She would wind up a spinster and that was _not_ what she had spent her entire life prepping for. This man, this prospect of a better future, was exactly what she had imagined for herself.

Tonight, her mind was still reeling at the proposal. She found herself sitting beside the pond, talking to Jack, or rather, herself. She did it often at first. She would come to his grave and talk to him as if he was sitting beside her. She would tell him every day how much she loved him and missed him. She would tell him that she would never forget him and that she would always be waiting for him to come back to her. It made the ache in her heart fade when she did it. Sometimes she felt like he was actually there, sitting next to her and listening. Whenever she would begin to cry, the wind would always brush past her and dry them. She would laugh lightly, telling Jack to stop and let her cry. She wasn't crying tonight, not yet anyway. What was she supposed to tell him? She had promised him that she would wait for him and now she had a chance to move on. She had a chance to live the life she was supposed to have to with him.

She sat by the pond, dipping her toes into the chilling water. It was summer time, but the water always felt cold, as if it would freeze over at any moment. She thought it was strange that since he had fallen in, the water turned ice cold. None of the kids would swim in it anymore unless it was a sweltering summer day and if they did, it wasn't for long. She would smile to herself, thinking that that was exactly like something Jack would do if he had control over it.

"Good evening, Jack." She smiled at the water, watching the ripples from her toes move across the surface, "I have some news to tell you."

She waited, wondering what he would say to something like that. He would always surprise her with his remarks. They were never the same and never predictable. She loved guessing what he would say. She could hear his voice saying many things to her. All of them snarky and would make her smile.

"I was proposed to this evening," She began, but stopped when the wind blew against her forcefully. "I said yes to him. I didn't want to, but it's time that I pretend to the rest of the people around me that I have gotten over you. You of all people know that I will never get over you and I will never stop loving you."

The wind whipped her hair around her face, stinging her eyes. Why was the wind so temperamental tonight? She always thought it was crazy so she never told anyone, but she felt like Jack was talking to her through the wind. She felt like he really was listening to her and responding.

"I guess I should tell you about him, even though you may not want to know. His name is Michael. He was actually a friend of yours before you passed. He's very kind to me and loves me very much," She broke away, feeling the fresh wave of tears sting her eyes. She had to get through this. She had to tell him so she could move on with her life. "I don't love him as much as I loved—love you, but it's enough to make me want to marry him."

She lost her control once the wind stopped its movements. She felt cold suddenly and lonely. She was always lonely, but now she felt as if the pond, the one place she felt Jack, was empty. What if she was making a mistake by marrying another man? She should have sought out Jack's mother for advice, but the woman rarely spoke to her anymore. His mother pretended to have forgotten her son, but she was always reminded when looking at the young woman. It wasn't her fault and both women knew that, but it was still painful. Did his mother think that it didn't hurt her to see the older woman whenever she left the house? But it didn't mean she wanted to lose her last connection to him.

She gasped for breath, trying to gain some semblance of control. Her toes were still in the water and her body shaking from her sobs had stirred the water more. She waited, watching the ripples and breathed deeply. What happened next was unexplainable.

The water froze.

She watched as the water turned into ice rapidly, barely giving her time to pull her toes from the water before they were engulfed in it. She was startled, crawling away in fear. It was summer! How was it possible for the water to freeze like that this time of the year?

The wind blew against her gently and the loneliness was gone, but it wasn't the same. She felt angry for the first time in three years. Jack didn't approve of her marrying this man, but what could he do about it?

"No, I will move on, Jackson." She said stubbornly and retreated from the woods.

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_I have some ideas for this, but I need a ROTG fanatic to bounce my ideas off of. Anyone interested? PM me if you are. I can take this so many ways and I need some opinions._


	3. Chapter 3

_*Flashback*_

_He walked up to her house, soaking wet but still smiling. She had hidden herself inside her room, trying to squeeze all of the water out of her hair. She had hung up the soaking wet clothes on the line outside angrily. She had never felt so humiliated. All she wanted to do was go for a walk; just to clear her head from the argument she had had with her mother. She tried her best to be exactly what her mother wanted, but somehow always failed. Every day, her mother would yell at her about something she had done wrong. _

_When he knocked on her door, she held her breath. How was her mother going to handle that irritating and immature Overland boy asking for her? She would probably be furious that her daughter would associate with such a boy. He was known for his pranks and irresponsibility; the very thing her mother did not tolerate. _

"_Is Regina here?" She heard Jack ask her mother._

"_Jackson? Yes, she is. May I ask what this is concerning?"_

"_I just came by to apologize." He said solemnly._

_She had never heard Jack sound so morose. She almost forgave him, but the dripping sound from her hair reminded her why she was so angry._

_She was surprised when her mother opened her door and motioned for her to come out. She followed obediently, hands twisting together in front of her. She saw Jack standing in her home, looking down at the floor. His usual unruly hair was flattened down and dripping water on the wood floors. His shirt clung to his thin body and his feet were bare, like always. She pursed her lips at the sight of him. He looked like everything she despised. Why was he able to always go out and have fun while she was stuck inside some house or school to make herself better for a man? She didn't find it fair. _

"_Regina, I want to apologize for my behavior today. I should not have pushed you into the pond when you were not expecting it." He said, almost sounding forced._

_Her lips pursed further out. She didn't believe him, but she saw her mother nodded approvingly. Her mother bought the lie. That was ridiculous._

_Jack looked up at her, trying his best not to smile at her appearance. She knew she looked a mess, but that was his fault. She cocked an eyebrow at him, trying to show that she didn't believe him. She heard her mother clear her throat, expecting a response from Regina._

_On cue, she said in her daintiest voice, "I accept your apology, Jackson. Thank you."_

_Jack's mouth twitched, trying to resist smiling still. She knew he was thinking about all the unladylike things she had said to him while she was swimming away. She was to never be surprised or else she would shame her mother. _

"_Would you walk with me?" Jack asked, returning his eyes to the floor._

_Regina let her shoulders slump. She didn't want to walk with him. She didn't want to be seen with him anymore than she already had. However, her mother cleared her throat again, urging her to go. She huffed heavily, but reached for her shoes. She didn't bother lacing them up, but she was surprised when Jack held the door for her. At least he had some manners._

_They walked away from her house, even away from his. He was directing her back towards the woods. She was hesitant. She didn't want him to push her in the pond again. _

"_I do feel bad for what I did, but I was forced to come over and tell you. Usually I just leave them alone for a few days so they forget about it."_

_She huffed, not responding to his explanation._

"_Are you always so stern?" He turned on his heels so he could walk backwards and face her._

"_Stern? No, I'm focused."_

"_Focused on what?" His amber eyes grew wide in curiosity._

"_Focused on becoming the perfect wife and mother, of course; I have many things I still have to learn before I can accept any proposal." She said snootily. _

_Jack fell instantly. He hadn't tripped on anything other than her words. She knew she sounded ridiculous, even to the small group of friends she had. However, he was the only one to ever do or say anything against her._

"_Why would you waste so much time on that? Don't you have any fun at all?" He asked from the ground._

"_No time for fun, Jackson Overland. It's not a waste of time, either. I will make a man very happy one day."_

"_Because you can sew and cook? That's not something every man looks for. There's more to marriage than house chores." He stayed on the ground, tucking his arms behind his head and looked up at her. The mischievous smile that usually splayed on his lips was gone, but replaced with some kind of sympathetic smile. _

"_What could there be to marriage more than keeping the house together?" She asked, sitting down beside him. _

"_Getting along; two people have to get along to make the home work. You can't just marry anyone." He said sagely, gazing up at the sky._

_She was about to dispute, but his words made sense. Her parents did get along. They talked quite often and she even heard them laughing at night when her father would come home. Now that she thought about it, her mother wasn't always doing house chores. She sat outside often and talked to the neighbors. Regina didn't like the gossip of other women, but now she saw that her mother was one of them. _

_For the first time, Regina let herself relax. He had made a point and it startled her. He _could_ act his age. They sat where they were, just on the edge of the woods and talked. The sun had completely set when he finally walked her home. She was stunned that she could have had a wonderful conversation with him when she had never even thought him capable of anything more than games and jokes. When she reached for the door, he took her hand and kissed the back of her hand. She felt her cheeks blush wildly. She prepped herself for men to start woo her, but never did she expect it at her age, and especially from the charlatan Jackson Overland._

_He left after that and she couldn't stop smiling. Her mother was sitting in the kitchen with her father. She hoped the candle light wouldn't show her blushing cheeks._

"_Regina dear, glad you decided to come home." Her mother said sternly._

"_I apologize for my lateness." She hung her head._

"_It's not a problem. I'm glad you finally decided to start having fun. I know that Overland boy can cause trouble, but he really is a sweet boy. I'm glad you've decided to start playing with him and the other children. You always did need to learn how to have fun." Her mother said, smiling at her._

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Three chapters in and she finally has a name!


	4. Chapter 4

She didn't tell anyone about the pond suddenly freezing. She didn't tell anyone that she had gone to the pond to tell Jack about her arrangement with another man. People in the town were already whispering behind their hands as she passed, saying she would become the spinster. She most certainly would not become that woman. She would marry and be the wife she was going to be with Jack, regardless of the humor that would not be in her life; she would still be the same kind of wife.

The following day, she was greeted first thing in the morning by her admirer. Startled, she dodged his kind words and went about her business as if such a proposal hadn't happened. The word of their engagement had spread like wildfire across the tiny village. For the first time in three years she was not greeted as something disgusting, but as something that should be rejoiced. Regina felt her top lip curl at everyone's congratulatory words. They were all false and she finally understood why Jack never wanted to grow up and become an adult. He did the work as he was supposed to, but refused to behave as expected adult. Regina felt her eyes swell with tears at the thought of him and how angry he was at her.

She worked her day at the baker's, hired by the eldest couple in the town. She would return back to the pond once the sun had set. She had angered him, but she wasn't afraid. She did feel as if she owed him an apology. As her day was ending, she was elated to see Emma, Jack's sister walk into the bakery. Although his mother had ceased to speak to her, his sister was always there to greet her. The young girl had grown beautifully over the years and Regina felt pride in her for Jack. He would have been very happy to see her grow and become responsible.

"I heard of your engagement," Emma smiled as she was picked out several loaves of bread. "I am very happy for you."

"Thank you." She said mechanically.

"You are not happy?" Emma asked, frowning at the sight of Regina's blank expression.

Regina sighed heavily, not sure how to explain her feelings to the young girl. "No, I am not. He was not who I intended to marry."

Emma softened her expression, staring at the older woman with sympathy. "I know, but it is time to move on. There is nothing wrong with that. You will always love my brother, but it is fine to love another," She broke away for a moment and studied Regina's face, "Even if it is not with the same passion."

Regina began to cry unwillingly. She felt so guilty for her feelings and her sense of duty as a woman. She did not want to betray Jack, but every time she saw Michael she felt as if she was. "Can I tell you a secret, Emma?"

"Yes! You can tell me anything."

"I still go to the pond and talk to Jackson. I feel him there," She wiped her eyes. "I know I sound crazy, but I do."

"I do as well." Emma said simply, as if it wasn't as big of a deal as Regina had thought.

This startled the older woman, halting her tears as Emma looked seriously at her. They held their gaze and Regina finally felt relief in her seeking Jack out for some sense of comfort. She wasn't the only one to still ache for him.

Emma walked out without another word. There was nothing left to say upon the matter.

Regina walked back into the woods once the village had gone to sleep. She carried herself with a little more pride as she pushed through the brush and fallen limbs. There was nothing wrong in talking to her beloved. She removed her shoes and dipped her toes into the chilling water again. She was glad to see it had melted over the course of the day. She braved the water and sat on the edge, smiling up at the sky and trees like nothing had happened.

"I'm back."

On cue, the wind played with her hair gently. She laughed, pushing the strands back behind her ear. He wasn't mad at her anymore, which was of a great relief.

"I want to apologize for last night, Jack. I know why you would be angry with me, as I am with myself."

"Regina?" A voice said from behind her suddenly.

She jumped up, spinning on her bare heel in the mud. It was Michael and he was carrying a shotgun. Why would he be out so late? The gun was not an uncommon accessory for him so Regina did not falter at the sight of it. "Michael, what are you doing out so late?"

"Following you," He moved closer, eying her curiously. "I am wondering why _you_ are out here so late. The woods are unsafe at this time."

"I—I was just having a relaxing walk. I do enjoy them at night," She feigned an innocent smile. "It helps ease my mind."

Michael remained silent, but continued to walk towards her. The wind was growing stronger and nearly blew away his cowhide hat. She would have laughed at Jack's attempts, but this was a serious matter. She was always able to keep her composure, even in the midst of Jack's tricks.

"I think you should go home, Regina. There are dangers prowling these woods now." He said in his no nonsense tone; a tone that would have normally wooed her.

"I am fine. I come here every night and have no trouble."

"But you will," He reached for her hand, but she back away, stumbling into the pond. Her skin chilled, but she tried to look unfazed. This was her time alone with Jack. Michael had no right to take it away from her. "There are monsters stalking in these trees, love. You must go back to your home."

"I will in due time." She retorted stubbornly.

She felt the water growing colder and the wind was starting to blow stronger still. She kept her ground, however. There was nothing that would make her stop speaking to Jack this evening. She had to explain herself to Jack.

Michael looked furious under the moonlight. His thick eyebrows stitched together and his thin mouth nearly vanished. "You will do as I say as I am your future husband."

"I will not!" She yelled, rage cracking through her voice. "I will not do as you say, sir. I will not follow your orders for I am not someone to be ordered around. I will not do your bidding. And I will _not_ be your wife."

Her words pierced him deeply; she could see it in his eyes. His brown eyes glinted in the moonlight and it frightened her. His grip on the gun tightened, but stayed by his side.

"Fine," He said sharply, turning his back to her. "Be the spinster of Burgess. Stay in love with some fallen jester."

She watched as he retreated back into the woods, trying to suppress the smile. The water was still chilling her, but she gave it no mind. Her skin had grown used to the cold and the wind had stopped. She wasn't sure if it was because of Jack leaving or if he was too stunned by her words. She hoped it was the latter. She turned back to look at the pond then, smiling triumphantly. She felt no guilt for her words. She felt light as a feather with her liberation from some doomed marriage. She did not want to marry him and was relieved that she had freed herself.

She glanced out onto the pond, but stumbled instantly when her green eyes gazed into a pair of shockingly blue eyes. Her step back gave her the advantage to look at the strangers face.

"Jack?" She asked, but suddenly heard a loud sound erupt from behind her.

Her chest felt cold and her eyes unfocused. She couldn't feel anything anymore and as she fell forward towards the water, ice cold hands grabbed her by the shoulders.

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_Don't hate me!_


	5. Chapter 5

_I don't think you guys know what your reviews mean to me! *squeals* They always keep me going and usually make me laugh! I'm trying not to disappoint any of you! Hope this sates you!_

* * *

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he had just witnessed this girl who would always visit him at night, die. He knew it was summer and he shouldn't use his staff to bring a blizzard, but Jack was furious. He moved her body to the shore and cried. He knew she had never been able to see him, but she still spoke to him as if she had known him. He didn't know her name, but he thought she was beautiful. He liked listening to her talk to him about this guy who had the same name as him. The longer she would speak to him the longer Jack was starting to feel like she was talking about him. She would always talk to him and tell her about her day and life. She was telling him that she loved him and she would always be there waiting for him. Jack felt like it had to be for him.

He hated seeing her cry. The look on her face would make his chest ache and he tried everything he could to comfort her, but like all the others, she couldn't see him. The wind was his friend and he was always able to talk to it and command it, so he used that to communicate with her. She seemed to understand. Her tears would stop when the wind danced through her hair and by the time she would retreat back into the village, she was smiling.

After a few moments, his sadness was fading and slowly it was replaced by rage. He balled his pale fists together tightly and his staff shone a bright blue from the power that surged through him and into the conduit. He hadn't known much about himself when he came out of the pond, but he was smart and he had figured out that the power actually came from him. He figured it out when he touched the water with his feet and it froze. He had originally thought only the staff could freeze things. Now, even though it was summer and the wind was warm and made the frozen spirit uncomfortable, he wanted cause a blizzard. He knew there would be wrath to pay when the summer spirit found out, but the rage that was boiling inside him made him impassive. He could face anything right now and not care. He had to find that man named Michael and make him pay.

Jack stared at the girl's body a moment longer, trying to decide how he was to do it. His lips twitched as menacing thoughts filled his mind. He didn't know much about this immortal world he was a part of, other than the spring and summer spirits, but he assumed killing mortals would get him into a lot of trouble. He had heard about Mother Nature and that she was _not_ someone to cross, but how was killing an evil man against nature?

Evil was to be ridden from the world.

Tightening his grip on the staff more, he jumped up, letting the wind carry him away. His thoughts were still reeling, trying to figure out some kind of revenge. Michael had said something about monsters. Monsters in the trees and that no one was safe, right? Jack smiled mischievously and began to look among to woods for any sign of hunters. He could play the part of a monster.

He dropped from the winds' current and landed gracefully in the thick branches of pine trees. He could hear several men talking loudly from below, so dropped further down. He didn't need to be stealthy and hide; he knew he could sit down next to them and listen, but the orange glow told him they had a large fire and if he got close enough, he might melt. Hanging from the branches now, Jack could see several men, a few older than himself, drinking and waving their guns around jovially.

He looked closer, studying all of their faces. He wouldn't strike until he knew that Michael was there. He didn't want to attack a random pack of hunters. He wasn't that heartless. After a few moments, Jack heard someone walking through the trees towards the large fire. To his vengeful heart, he was glad to see Michael appear from the brush.

"Michael!" one of the older men said loudly, swaying from his seat on a large log, "Where ye gone off to?"

"Just had a quick word with my lady, sir," Michael said, sitting himself beside the man and taking a drink of whatever was being passed around, "You need to lay off the rum. You won't ever catch a monster if you keep this up."

Jack gritted his teeth, feeling the branches freeze from his anger.

"Which lady?" Another man laughed loudly, splashing his overcoat with the rum that Michael had handed him, "You've got two or three."

Michael laughed, staring into the fire, "The Hunt girl, you know the one that visits the pond often."

"The lunatic," Jeered the man sitting closest to Michael. All of the men sitting around the fire boomed in laughter.

"A bit cracked up, yes sir," Michael laughed along with them all.

Jack felt the branch snap from the cold and his anger, but he just floated over to another on, listening intently. However, the sound of the branch colliding with more and finally landing, made several men stand up. Jack smiled, realizing that playing the monster would be easier than he thought. He swung himself up to perch on a bough and called the wind back to him. He made it blow fiercely which therein made the boughs of all the trees whine and creak. Jack rapped his staff against several more, larger branches and let laughed maliciously as several more made their way down to the ground. All of the men were now looking around, guns in their hands and waited to be attacked. The wind grew stronger, nearly blowing the large fire out and blew the hats off of them. Jack laughed again, jumping down from the trees.

He circled around them, seeing if there was anyone too young to have to face Death. No, they were all much older and Michael was the youngest. That was fine with Jack. He didn't want to hurt anyone other than Michael; however their jests at Regina made his frozen blood boil. He made the wind blow against them again and as he walked closer to the group, he tapped a few of them on the feet. Their shoes froze to the ground and startled them all. The ones that had frozen yelled in pain and fright, losing their grips on their guns. Jack didn't care. He didn't think a gunshot would have done anything to him since people could _walk_ through him. He made his way to Michael, teeth grinding as he held back his power. His staff was been glowing brightly from the power of his rage.

"Monsters roam these trees!" The man that called Regina a lunatic yelled, throwing his gun down and running back towards the direction of the village. Jack let him go. He was probably too drunk from the rum to have a coherent thought. Jack kept his attention on Michael and smiled in the glory of the killer slinking back in fear. Jack tapped his shoulder and was pleased when Michael's arms froze and even crystalized his gun. Michael screamed, trying to break from the icicles that enveloped his upper body now. Jack cackled, rising up from the ground and yelled in rage. Scaring him wasn't what he was after. Jack unleashed his power of snow and ice. In a flurry of snow, dirt and ice, Jack lost sight of the hunters. Panting, Jack landed back on the ground and waited for the debris to fall away.

He smiled triumphantly as all the men were now lying on the ground, chattering and slowly freezing to death. There was only snow around their campsite, but that was all Jack had wanted to do. The fire was extinguished and the men were slowly falling into their eternal slumber. Jack stayed, watching Michael and didn't leave until he knew for sure that he had gotten his revenge. Regina may not have been someone he knew personally and she didn't know him, but when Michael had killed her, he felt like his heart had been torn to pieces. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Regina.

Sated and tired, Jack flew back to the pond. He wanted to be with Regina for a little longer until someone came to look for her. It was still night and he was sure that the village had fallen asleep. No one would look for her until the morning.

Jack landed and looked around. He thought he was on the right side of the pond, but her body wasn't there. He flew from one side to the other, looking for any sign of her. She was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

_There has been over a thousand views on this story, which is awesome! But let's leave some reviews for the writer, eh?_

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Jack searched everywhere for her. In the short amount of time he was gone, no one would have been able to carry her very far. He searched until the sun peered over the trees. He hung in the trees, waiting for someone to come looking for her. Maybe someone would have been able to find her and give him some peace of mind. She deserved a proper funeral. The wind was pushing against him, trying to get him to fly with it and do what he was actually supposed to do. He had figured out within the first year that there was more to the world than just the pond. He didn't go far, but he knew the further north he went, the more he felt comfortable and was able to use his powers without upsetting too many of the other spirits.

He waited, but no one was coming. The sun was hanging high in the sky when he decided to give up. Was no one going to look for her? Maybe someone had brought her into the village. He fought against the winds' demands and dropped back into the village that he had visited the night he rose from the pond. There were children everywhere, running and laughing and it infected Jack. He knew he was looking for Regina, or at least hoping to hear someone talk about her, but he couldn't help but laugh when they were around. He wished he wasn't invisible to them because he knew they would enjoy some of the games he had thought of. Even though he was always alone, other than the nightly visits from Regina, he would think of new things to do. He wished someone would have been able to have fun with him.

He wandered around, listening in to others conversations, but no one seemed to have noticed her disappearance. Why wasn't anyone upset?

As he moved nearer to the other side, he heard crying. Moving closer, hoping it would be one of Regina's family members, he would try to comfort them. The young girl was sitting on a barrel, face in her hands and tears leaking through the lines of her fingers. Her brown hair was a mess and matted with twigs and mud around her head. She looked as if she had fallen asleep in the trees. Jack walked over to her, placing an arm around her shoulders, even though he knew they would go right through her. However, his icy cold arm settled on her shoulders, startling her and him.

She jumped up, staring at him in fear and shock. He couldn't believe he had touched someone! She could see him. Staring at her, staring into her large green eyes reminded him of someone. Her hair was jet black and curly.

"Regina?" He said faintly, nearly dropping his staff.

"Who are you?"

Of course she didn't know him. She had never seen him, but he knew her. Her hair had changed from the chestnut brown to black, but it was still her.

"I'm Jack Frost."

"Jack? Do you know who I am?"

He was speechless. Why didn't she know who she was? However, how was she still alive? He had seen her die. He held her lifeless body in his arms. How was this possible?

"Sir, do you know who I am? No one here knows me or even hears me." She cried again, her bottom lip quivering slightly.

"I…I know you're Regina Hunt."

"R-Regina? That doesn't sound right."

He was about to take a step towards her, wanting to console her, but the wind blew against him fiercely. Was it warning him?

"Frost!" An angry, female voice yelled from above suddenly. Jack had actually been waiting for this and he was surprised that it was happening later than expected. Once the woman landed, he was able to see the Summer spirit clearly, for the second time in three years. She was dressed in orange and yellow robes that billowed in the wind. Her beautiful face was furious, which would normally make men cower in fear, but Jack didn't care.

"Oh, Theros! I was wondering when you would come see me." Jack said lazily, leaning against his staff, but keeping his eyes on Regina.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much damage you've done? Not only did you kill five people, but you also killed the surrounding crops and trees!" Theros yelled, veins protruding from her neck.

"It's warm, Theros" He answered, shrugging his shoulders, "Everything will be fine in a while. It was just a small blast. I'm sure everything had melted by now."

"Not the point, Jack!" Theros stamped her bare feet, "I don't care if Man in the Moon chose you, you have to abide by the seasons rules! You can't cause a snowstorm whenever you like!"

"I know, I know, I just had something to take care of. It won't happen again."

Theros ran her long fingers through her disheveled hair, looking away from Jack and towards Regina. She stopped, letting her mouth hang open slightly, "Clementia! I'm so sorry!"

Jack was confused and watched Theros bow ungracefully to Regina and extend a frail looking hand. For the spirit of summer, Theros looked too delicate to handle much stress of anything. Jack didn't know how she handled Poseidon during her season. Jack got along with him the one time they had met. Poseidon had actually been the one to tell him to venture out into the world and cause more mayhem and winter storms. Naturally, Jack obliged and the older man joined in causing some of the bigger blizzards the world had seen. Jack stayed away from inhabited areas and kept to the northern part of the world. Poseidon had gotten bored with him quickly after that and left to cause a hurricane.

Jack left the north and came back to the pond, missing the nightly visits from a kind and gentle person that was Regina.

"Sorry, who?" Regina asked, wiping her face quickly at finally being addressed.

Theros sighed heavily, moving closer to Regina, "You're Clementia! Gaia told us there would be a new member of the immortal world joining us."

Jack could see Regina, or now Clementia, tense from Theros' advances. Regina was still too frightened and cautious. Jack was sure that she didn't understand anything Theros was saying to her. Jack barely knew what was being said.

"Whoa!" Jack said, swinging his staff in between the women, "Who's Gaia? Why do you want her?"

"Frost, this is _none_ of your business. Mother wants us to collect everyone not chosen by the Moon."

"Why do you keep saying that? Who chose you then?" Jack was sick of not getting answers from any of the other spirits he had met.

"Gaia chose me! We're the natural spirits." Theros said pretentiously, finally grabbing hold of Regina's wrist.

"Who's Gaia?"

Theros huffed, turning away from Jack and pulling Regina away from him, "Mother Nature, Frost. Get out of this part of the world and meet everyone."

They took off; flying into the wind faster than Jack could realize what had happened and what Theros had said. He glared at the sky and where he had last seen the women, but slowly he moved his sight towards the moon that was faintly glowing in the sky.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

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_You have no idea how much research went into this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! I think it's pretty good. I want to warn you that my plan for this story isn't going to be the predictable love story. No no no no no no…..I have something evil planned! _


	7. Chapter 7

Jack was sitting on top of a roof somewhere in Russia watching it begin to snow heavily. He smirked as he watched the people that braved the outdoors run to try and get inside before the storm became more forceful. Jack always enjoyed watching the adults hide from his powers while the children ran outside to try and catch the flakes on their tongues. He really liked the children of the world. They held everything he wished he had. However, no one could see him and it was beginning to hurt him more and more as the years wore on. There were two things he wanted more than anything else. He wanted to be seen and believed in by the innocence of the world, but he also wanted Regina back. Clementia was fine, but she was educated by the elemental spirits and deities, so she had gained the 'better and more powerful than everyone else' perception; other than the Guardians. No one seemed to think they were better than the Big Four.

Jack's smirk faded when he thought about the Guardians and Clementia.

He knew she had no idea who he was while she had been Regina, but he knew her and he felt that he had lost his best friend once Theros took her away. Jack had spoken to her a handful of times since their departure and she had told him that deities don't interfere with 'myths'. That hurt him, but he wanted to help her become the girl she was before. Theros had threatened him several times about leaving her alone, but Jack never listened to anyone. He was a rebel. He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

The sun was falling behind the horizon and also the large clouds that brought his commanded storm made the city fall into darkness earlier. The children were throwing the last of their snowballs before they were beckoned inside. There was no point of him staying around if no one was going to be there to enjoy what he brought them. Once the last door closed on the street he was overseeing, he stood up and was about to call the wind to him. However, a soft thump came from behind him. The noise had been too quiet for a mortal, so Jack rolled his eyes and turned to face the immortal that had decided he needed yet another lecture. It was winter so he had every right to use his powers of winter and use as much of his powers as he wanted. He turned on his heel and was greeted by a large pile of black hair that was perched on the other side of the roof and not paying him any mind.

"Clementia!" He said, moving to the other side so he could sit next to her.

She gave him a curt nod and narrowed her eyes to watch the few people that were still wondering around on the neighboring street.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, swinging his staff lazily.

"Murder."

Jack flinched at her nonchalant tone. Although he had murdered five men for her, no, Regina, he still had a hard time understanding why people did it for pleasure. Jack had felt horrible after the freak snowstorm. He felt terrible that he had stooped low enough to actually kill someone. He felt as if his punishment for murder had been to remain invisible forever. Maybe his punishment was Regina's memory loss.

"What are you going to do about it?" Jack asked, swallowing thickly.

"If I don't miss my chance," She hissed, "I will show mercy."

Jack knew that was her hint that he should leave her alone, but he wasn't going to. She was his best friend, even if she didn't know it.

"Maybe I can help you?" He suggested, leaning back against the shingles.

"I doubt it, Frost."

"You've never seen me use my powers for anything other than snow and ice. I can actually use it to benefit people too."

She snorted, jumping gracefully onto another roof. Jack followed, unfazed by her sudden departure. He was used to the other immortals moving away from him quickly. He knew most of them didn't want to talk to him, but he was typically faster than the others so it wasn't hard to keep up. Clementia tried to avoid talking to him when other immortals were around, but when they were alone, she would speak to him for a while. She wasn't completely lost in the deity complex yet. He still had hope that he could find the Regina in her.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but she held her delicate hand up quickly to stop him. Her green eyes narrowed sharply and she jumped off again. He followed, curious to see her at work. He had only seen her use her powers once.

Jack followed her down to the frozen streets and into some dark alleyway where he had seen two burly men enter. Now, the invisible immortals moved closer and could see the cruelty that was happening. Clementia walked up to the largest man that held the other against a brick wall and a knife against the skin of the throat. Jack turned his eyes away from the sight, but stayed close by. Clementia was invisible just like he was, but she didn't desire to be seen. She approached the men and placed a hand lightly on the predator's shoulder and waited. Jack could hear her mutter something into his ear, but he couldn't make out the words.

That was it. A simple touch and kind words from her made all the madness and cruelty leave the mortal. However, it deeply saddened her that she wasn't capable of stopping _all_ bloodshed in the world. Wars were the most difficult for her. She could only do so much and Jack believed that was what had kept her from being consumed by the deity complex. She was always humbled. Theros and her sisters could use their powers effortlessly, but they were never directly involved with mortals. They only had the power of the seasons, much like himself. Cheimon was the winter deity, but she didn't handle the storms like he did. He was the one that brought the snowstorms and ice. She, in all honesty, just controlled the temperature. Jack was the one that brought the actual elements that made it winter. Cheimon liked Jack occasionally, but she still felt he was a nuisance.

The threatened man ran out of the alleyway, not believing his luck. The other held the knife, trying to figure out why he had been so weak. The anger was still there, but the desire to harm other mortals wasn't. Clementia backed away, holding her hand as if it had been burned. She was sad and moved passed Jack quietly. She had done this the only other time he had seen her in action. He never understood why she had to be alone for a while after she had saved a life. He followed her back onto the rooftops, not saying a word.

After several silent minutes passed, she finally spoke, "That part is always the hardest. The compassion I share with everyone is easy. Most mortals just want kind words and someone to hold their hands while they deal with their struggles. Mercy, though, is hard. Some people don't know what mercy means and it's always so much harder when murder has poisoned their minds."

Jack frowned, studying her face. He couldn't imagine how difficult her job in the world was. When she had been Regina, he saw her kindness and compassion many times. She would talk about a young girl named Emma quite often. Apprehensively, he reached for her hand to try and give her some compassion. He was sure she wasn't used to being on the receiving end. The moment his ice cold hand took hold of hers, she flinched. He was uncomfortable by the contact as well, but it seemed like the right thing to do for her.

And for the first time in a long time, she smiled at him.


	8. Chapter 8

_This is kind of boring, but it's needed. Next chapter will be from Regina/Clementia's POV! I had to get the movie scenes out so this story can progress._

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He called off the storm. There wasn't any need for it to continue now that his mood had improved.

Clementia couldn't stay around for long and Jack knew he should have left Russia some time ago. He had snow days to give. However, simply sitting on the rooftop with Clementia was quite satisfying for him. He could see the Regina in her when she let her guard down and let him hold her hand. Once she flew off, he was left to think about her and all the possible ways to make her remember. He couldn't remember anything from before the pond, so he wasn't sure why he was trying to help her. He should have been worrying about himself, like he always did. But Jack honestly didn't think there was a past for him. He came from the pond in the dead of winter. That was the beginning of his life and nothing else.

The thoughts about her made him smile and the fact that she finally smiled at him made his heart leap. He took flight and he mischievously spread ice across the buildings and streets across Moscow. He laughed as people fell or yelled in rage at the sudden appearance of ice. He always had fun startling the mortals. Quickly and invisibly, he climbed the highest tower in the city and watched as everything froze beneath him.

"That was fun," He laughed jovially, "Hey wind! Take me home!"

The large current pushed against him and he relaxed, letting it take him up into the sky and over the large clouds. He whooped and hollered throughout the sky, not believing his day. He didn't want to dwell on Clementia too much longer because he knew he would want to see her again and he had no idea when that time would come again. Over the past three hundred years, he had seen her only a handful of times and he hated it. If he was able, he would have seen her as often as he could, hoping that the sight of him might spark something. She did say his name before she died, but he didn't know if it was because she saw him or if she was calling out to the person she always came to talk to. It didn't matter, Jack had to remind himself. She wasn't Regina anymore.

He shook his head, seeing the sun shining through the clouds and down on the opposite side of the earth. His cheers didn't stop even though he was trying not to think about the merciful deity. Once he saw the clouds thinning, he summoned his power and yelled happily, "Snow day!"

He loved this tiny city that was where he had emerged from the pond. He liked the children in it and the fun they always seemed to have when he was around. None of them saw him, but he still spoke to them as if they could hear him. He also played games with them and they never seemed to notice the random snowballs that would fly out of nowhere. He landed back on the pond, ice skating impeccably around the surface. Kids were around, cheering about a snow day and he couldn't help but feel happy that they were happy about his work.

He followed them back to one of the kid's house and talked regardless of being unheard. He couldn't believe he had just heard that! Who's Jack Frost? He was and he was about to prove that he was real. Instantly, he started a snowball fight, but that wasn't getting him any recognition. One boy had a sled so Jack took his chance and took the kid on a ride he wouldn't forget. It was satisfying and kept Jack laughing and feeling great. Hope bloomed in his chest at the thought of this one kid believing in him.

No, of course not. The thrill of the ride was over the moment the couch collided with the boy. He wasn't going to believe in Jack. The hope that started to warm his frozen body was gone and the moment the kids walked through him, he was done. He was sick of not being seen. He wanted that more than anything else in the world. He had Clementia and that was fine. He wanted believers. He wanted people he could talk to and play with.

He stuffed his free hand in his hoodie pocket and flew off, back into the clouds. He had other cities to freeze. What else could he do about this? What was he supposed to do about getting believers? The Guardians always made it look so easy to have the children believe. Why couldn't he get that too? Was he only supposed to bring snow and ice to the world? The Man in the Moon chose certain people, Jack knew that. Gaia chose others, Jack knew that as well. Gaia at least communicated with her spirits and deities. The moon just hung in the sky silently. Jack was frustrated with the Man in the Moon, but also at himself. What was he doing wrong? Why wasn't anyone able to see him? What was he supposed to do?

Jack let his mood take over the weather and he felt slightly bad that people were getting more snow than they had anticipated before Easter. This wasn't the first time he nearly ruined Easter and he knew Bunny still had a grudge against him. That had been a few years ago, so Jack thought the Pooka could use another snowy Easter.

The sun had set by the time Jack finished his touches. His mood couldn't improve though, so he went back to the boy's red house. Jamie was his name. Jack always liked playing with Jamie and his friends. He didn't know why, but they honestly enjoyed his powers. At least people could enjoy the work he did even if no one believed he was behind it.

Jack hung outside Jamie's window and watched the boy interact with his family. The sight pained him and he couldn't watch for very long. He wanted company. He missed the talks he and Regina would have during the earlier years, even if her conversations weren't for him. She was still someone he could talk to and she would respond like she had heard him. She had been his hope that he wouldn't be alone forever. But now she was with Gaia and the sisters, which made me more alone than before.

Jack spoke to the moon, knowing that it wouldn't answer. Sometimes he talked to the moon because he wanted to talk. He wanted to get his thoughts and feeling out. Silence always met him though, and in three hundred years the moon hadn't said a single word to him since he first came out of the pond.

Dream sand came down from the sky suddenly, lightening Jack's mood. He loved watching the Sandman work. He never slept so Sandman never gave him any dreams, even though he thought he would enjoy them. He chased them, laughing and forgetting his dampened mood. It wasn't long after before all the children had gotten their dreams so Sandman wasn't needed any longer. The sand faded slowly and Jack was feeling slightly better.

But then strange things happened and Jack was always very curious.


	9. Chapter 9

Clementia stood in the middle of the road, watching the people of the world move forward. They had so many things to do and so many places to go. No one ever seemed to stop these days. She had seen the world evolve and it frightened her. The anger grew and the love died. She was angry that Cupid was too lazy to make the world love every day. As soon has he had gotten a holiday, he got lost in the fame of it. Only incredibly important immortals get holidays while everyone else was stuck to work daily and harder.

The other deities worked just as much as she did. No one had fun. Being a god wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Gaia was hardly ever around for them anymore and whenever they would see her, she was fuming about how irresponsible the mortals were and how they were destroying all of her hard work. She had put so much into the earth and these new advancements were making it harder. The sisters were always working too, even if they were out of season somewhere, they still had things to do.

Even the Guardians were busy.

The only person that seemed unfazed by the duties of being a spirit with powers was Jack Frost. He acted as if he didn't have a care in the world.

She had seen him work and he worked quite often, but he was always enjoying himself. She had seen him many times and not once did she see him not have fun. The pale boy always had a smile on his face. He was always thinking of new ways to have fun and spread winter joy. She knew he didn't do it for Christmas. That would mean he had to be friendly with North and he wasn't in the slightest. The larger man certainly held no grudges against the boy, but Guardians were with Guardians. She was a deity and was supposed to be only with deities, but this boy was interesting. She watched him often and she knew he wasn't always aware of it.

She liked him.

He was there shortly after she had been born. Or made. She wasn't sure what to call it. He joked around with Theros, even though the summer deity hadn't been amused. The sisters were always so serious, which Clementia liked, but when she would see Jack, she wished she could be carefree like him; even if it was only once. She admired his work, but told no one about it. She felt bad that she had to give him the cold shoulder whenever he would see her. He had bad timing and she always had work. Mortals were bloodthirsty and sad constantly. She was tired. She was three hundred years old and she was starting to get tired.

She often wondered what the world would do if she took some time off. Surely it would be covered in blood from suicides and murders.

She looked up at the night sky in Tokyo, trying to see why these people liked to live there. Busy, always busy people and it made her even more exhausted to think that these people enjoyed constantly going. She was like them, though; always going and working, never taking time for herself. The people pushed their way across the streets and sidewalks, trying to get the last bit of business out so they could sleep. Night time was always busy for her. The dark seemed to bring out the worst in people.

She had to head down into the Tokyo subway to stop a woman from jumping onto the tracks in a few moments, but she wanted to take a small moment and enjoy the world. She tried to smile like she had when Jack held her hand, but couldn't. It felt so forced. At least the lights of the city were enchanting and soothed her a little.

She was invisible to everyone, except to the other immortals, of course. She never wanted to be seen like the Guardians _had_ to be seen. Gaia's children worked better if they didn't have to be believed in. They had their own stories and that was enough for them. She didn't know why anyone would want to be a Guardian, but not everyone was chosen by Gaia. The Man in the Moon chose his spirits and Guardians for his own reasons. Gaia was always upset that she wasn't allowed to interact with them. Clementia was the only one that knew about Mother's fascination with the Easter Bunny. At least it wasn't completely unheard of to like the forbidden immortals.

Clementia shook her head, thinking how silly it was to think of Jack like that. He was an acquaintance to her and that was all he would ever be. She had work to do and couldn't get distracted. As she turned her gaze away from the brightly lit sky, she saw figures fly across the sky. That was interesting, but she couldn't think anything of it. It was a highly technological world now and it was probably just some new development. She had to get to the subway.

The woman was standing on the edge of the platform, looking into the dark tunnel for the anticipated train. She wasn't too late. Kicking her feet off the ground, Clementia floated over to the woman and immediately held her hand. The contact burned her hand as she pulled all of the poisonous thought from her mind. She didn't have to power to remove those kind of thoughts forever, but it was enough to spare the mortal another day. Slowly, the deity spoke gently to the woman, reminding her why she should live. Why she needed to go home and get some rest. There wasn't any point in doing something so silly. Clementia whispered to her that it was all going to be all right. The power of compassion exuding from her burnt hand and into the woman, but the change was noticeable. The woman's dark eyes flickered with the slightest amount of hope. It wasn't all hopeless and she wanted the mortals to see that.

Clementia waited until the woman took a step back before releasing her hand. She sighed from relief. She wasn't able to save all of them, but it hurt even more if she tried to help them and they still let the poison consume them. There was only so much she could do. She had actually touched pure evil before and it took hours before her hand could heal properly. Now that this woman was saved, at least for the rest of the day, Clementia could leave. She floated out of the subway and up into the sky. She settled on one of the higher buildings, hoping the cool wind would soothe the burning in her hand.

"Epic!" yelled a voice suddenly, startling her from her pained thoughts.

A large, gray figure flew past her and into a small window. The wind picked up even more as a flash of blue flew past her too. The next thing to startle her was the buzzing of wings and a high, excited voice shouting out directions. She couldn't keep up with the orders and the sudden sound of the busy voice colliding with, probably, one of the larger billboards echoed across the sky. Clementia stood up and looked around. She couldn't believe it. The Guardians were together and… she narrowed her eyes to take a closer look and saw Jack Frost hanging from the said billboard and talking to the Tooth Fairy. She pursed her lips and watched as the separated and went in different directions. Why were the Guardians spending time with Jack now? They were more adamant about not interacting with him more than the deities were. She watched them disappear and reappear from the homes, even catching on that they were racing and became very competitive.

Once she saw North's enormous sleigh fly off and disappear through a magic portal, she decided to let them be. Jack was getting interaction now and that was all he ever really wanted.


	10. Chapter 10

Clementia was feeling panicked. She wasn't sure when there had been so much fear in the world as there was now. Day to day life had never been this bad. She knew something was wrong. Something was making the mortals afraid and uneasy. She was working nearly double and she could hardly get to everyone in time. She had never flown so fast in her entire three hundred years. She could sense the dark cloud hanging over everyone and the gloom and tiredness of them all. She could see the adults struggle to stay awake and stay busy. They spoke less and dragged their feet to their destinations instead of the incessant scurrying. She had saved more people in a single day than she had in a week.

When she found herself saving a child; wrapping her arms around the small body and imploring the child to not do what they were about to; she had had enough. Something was seriously wrong and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She knew she wasn't supposed to speak to the Guardians, but if the children were in danger then she knew they would be able to do something.

Finding the Guardians was harder than she had thought. She first flew off to North's palace, but only seemed to anger the yetis. Afterward, she went to Tooth's palace, but found it scarcely empty. She had never been the Warren, but she had some idea where it could be located. However, before she could rush off, she had a small group of children to comfort before. It was a holiday; she knew that. Something had happened to the holiday to make the children sad. She had never sensed so much lost hope before in her three hundred years.

The children were dragging their feet through the grass, holding colorful baskets and clearly upset. Clementia saw the banners that hung in the trees about an Easter egg hunt. They were huddled together, walking slowly out of the park together. Clementia wept for them, not understanding why they were so sad on such a joyous day. She flew over to them, reaching out for their hands and small bodies, hoping her compassion would be able to give them back some of their lost hope. She enveloped them all briefly. One at a time, they gained some semblance of happiness again, but she knew it wouldn't be for long. Something was taking over the world.

Once she did all she could, she let them go. Their baskets were still dragging on the ground, but she could tell they knew it would all be okay soon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a mass of gray hidden in the brush. If it was Easter, this gray that was hiding was more than likely the Easter Bunny. She walked over to the brush quietly, peering into it to see the larger than normal bunny curling up onto a ball. She had never seen this intimidating creature look so helpless. Surely what was happening couldn't be affecting the Guardians too?

"Bunny?" She asked, moving branches away so she could use her powers to console him.

"It's over. We lost." He murmured, flinching slightly when she touched his shoulder.

"You! What are you doing here?" bellowed a voice thickly laced in a Russian accent.

Clementia jumped, but not removing her hand. It was burning, but there was something else that was happening to her. It wasn't the normal burning sensation that mortals gave her. She let her mouth hang open when she made eye contact with North. How was she supposed to answer him? She didn't know what she was doing. She had never consoled another immortal before.

"What are you doing to him!?" Shouted the Tooth Fairy suddenly, startling Clementia even more. The deity turned her gaze back to the bunny and saw him shrink. Slowly, he was becoming smaller and smaller. She released him immediately, thinking she had somehow taken his power, but he kept getting smaller until he was the size of a normal bunny. Nothing about him said tough and intimidating.

Blisters were forming on the palm of her hand, but she was too distracted by the sudden change of the Easter Bunny. Tooth bent down and picked him up, tears welling in her eyes. North's large stature towered over Clementia, but his head was down as if in defeat.

"What's going on?" Clementia squeaked out.

"Pitch…Pitch Black is taking over. He took all of the fairies and now ruined Easter. There's nothing more we can do." North answered, sheathing his swords.

"If only Jack had been here," Tooth started to say.

"Jack? What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's our new Guardian. He's the only one that can stop Pitch."

"Where is he?" Clementia perked up, hoping he was somewhere around. She liked to look at him every chance she could.

"Gone."

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Clementia was flying over the world, touching the mortals briefly. She couldn't afford to lose any more time. This was the most impersonal she had ever been, but she had to be quick. The moment she saw all of the color drain from North's face and the Tooth Fairy unable to fly any longer, she knew despair was sweeping across the world. Pitch was the Guardians problem so she could only let them handle it how they could. She wouldn't have been able to do anything. She wasn't involved with the Boogeyman.

Whatever had happened between the Guardians and Jack was none of her business either, but it saddened her that they were putting so much pressure on the boy. He was used to being alone, like her. She knew if she was suddenly thrust into responsibilities and rules than she was used to, she would have fled too. She couldn't blame Jack for leaving.

The voices that echoed in her head were getting louder with the more people that were depressed. It had taken quite some time to get used to hearing all the mortals pleas, but she discovered it was the best way to find the ones that truly needed her help.

She was flying over the small town of Burgess when she was stopped by a high pitched scream in her head. She followed the voice, listened to the screams and cries for help to a small red house. She had seen this house before, but it was always happy. She never needed to stop here before. One time she had seen Jack sitting on the roof and watching the children of the home play. This house had to be special to Jack and although she was extremely busy, she would spend a little more time with whoever needed her.

Once inside the house, the voice stopped. She found a woman sitting in the kitchen, clutching a tissue and tears running down her face. Clementia didn't hesitate and sat beside her. She reached for her hand and spoke softly, telling her it was all going to be all right. There was nothing to worry about. It was strange that inside this house, there was still the sense of despair, but there was also a flicker of hope. It was something that usually filled the world until recently. The blisters had disappeared slightly, but they had scared her lightly. It was startling to think that consoling one of her kind could cause such a flaw. Touching the woman didn't burn her at all, but simply warmed her skin. That was something Clementia felt rarely. It meant that this was not poisonous thoughts, but environmental. Pitch Black being at large certainly explained this as well. This woman was only suffering since the Boogeyman was back.

After a few moments, she could hear a disturbance outside, but decided not to leave. It was imperative that she help this woman, even if it was only for Jack. There would be a price to pay for spending more time with a single woman over the others, but she was ready to face the consequences. This world was dark and needed her.

She had complete faith in Jack and the Guardians. The Boogeyman wouldn't be around for much longer.

* * *

_Okay, this is going to get interesting for Clementia soon! Obviously the Regina in her still loves Jack, but since she's a deity, she can't interact with him. Drama is coming next chapter!_

_P.S. The movie plotline is done now. We'll move on to after the defeat of Pitch _


	11. Chapter 11

Memories flooded his mind's eye. At first they were too much, but slowly they were becoming organized and he could make sense of them all. He was running into the woods, teasing his sister playfully. It changed and he was hanging upside down from the trees and his mother was yelling at him. It changed again. It was nighttime and he was holding antlers against his head and playing shadow puppets for the younger children. Then it changed again and showed his death and how he had been able to save his sister. He was still so thrilled about that. He was so glad she had been able to survive even though he hadn't. He died for a good cause and was quite happy about it. The fact that he died didn't bother him.

Now that Pitch was gone and all of the Guardians were safely back in North's place did Jack feel he could divulge into his memories again. They brought him closure that he had needed for over three hundred years. He had a home! He had had a family! He _was_ someone before he became Jack Frost.

The walk through the workshop was chaotic and overloaded his senses, but he was on a mission. Finding a solitary spot for him to learn even more about his past life was difficult. The entire workshop seemed to be filled with yetis and elves. As he ascended more levels, his frustration was reaching its peak. It wasn't until he reached the top floor did he find it vacant. He waited a few more moments, seeing if anyone would come up there for something. The room was stacked full of presents, fully wrapped and tagged for Christmas. Jack had never seen so many presents in his life. He smiled, knowing so many children would be excited about their presents. Belief in the Guardians would become stronger on that day.

Jack settled on the small wooden bench underneath the window. He pulled the golden box out of his pocket and stared at it again. The first time he was uncertain and was almost afraid of what he would see. Now he knew his purpose, so the fear wasn't there. What would he see this time?

Slowly, he lowered his hand to the shining diamonds on the surface and waited for it to flood his vision, only this time he didn't remove his fingers.

The same memories flashed across his mind, reminding him of his purpose. But then new ones came. His mother's face, smiling at him as he made faces at his sister from across the table. His father's voice booming across the house, lecturing him that it was time to grow up. He was running through the village, chasing the smaller children. His sister was pulling at his hand again, this time during the summer. Another flash and he was climbing up a tree as a young girl was swearing, trying to swim to shore. He jumped, landing in the water just a few feet away from the girl, but the splash of his jump made her go under again. The scene changed and he was dripping water on the floor in his home. His mother was yelling at him, hands firmly placed on her hips.

"Go apologize to that poor girl! She has never done anything to deserve that."

Jack then found himself standing in the doorway of another house, trying not to laugh and apologize. When he looked up, he was stunned. He saw Regina! Regina was frowning at him, lips pursed and eyebrow raised. Jack wanted to scream. He had known Regina. He knew he had.

His memory changed again and he found himself leaning close to Regina as she was pressed against a tree. She was smiling; it was barely there, but he could see the tiniest curve of her lips. After a moment, he leaned in completely and kissed her. He could feel everything in that instant. It all made sense now. She came to the pond to talk to him! He was her Jackson! She said she was going to wait for him. She promised that she wasn't going to be with anyone other than him.

In another flash, Jack was sitting at the table with his mother. She looked happy and tears were welling in her eyes.

"I would like to ask Regina to marry me."

Jack jumped, his memories fading from his sight. He breathed deeply, feeling as if he had been holding his breath for a long time. He couldn't believe how clear everything was now. No wonder he felt so attached to her. He had to find her. He had to make her see her own memories and see that there was more to them than just the small talk they had whenever they could.

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The next morning, everything was back, if not better. The Guardians had done it. They had saved the world from fear.

All of the voices in her head had ceased. She was actually unneeded for the first time since she could remember. It was surprising, but she couldn't complain. If she could sleep then she would have. The day's events had exhausted her even more. She hadn't left Burgess completely by the time the need for her power stopped. She reveled in the silence and decided to take her time flying back to Gaia's home. She wondered how long she would be able to enjoy her own time.

The fly wasn't long, but she made it last much longer. Immortals had no real sense of time since everything they did was quick. What felt like minutes for her was only seconds to the mortals. She knew she could make it to the other side of the earth within minutes, but a slow and steady pace was tempting. She wasn't nearly as fast as some of the others, but she never needed to be. So it wasn't surprising that someone had been able to catch up with her somewhere over Asia.

"Clem!"

She turned over in the wind, surprised to see Jack Frost speeding up towards her. He was smiling brightly, but she noticed it wasn't his usual mischievous smile.

"I'm glad I found you," Jack said once he caught up to her flight pace. "Will you do something for me?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, curious, but unable to show it. She knew it anyone saw them flying together she would be in trouble with Gaia, along with the sisters.

"Come to Tooth's Palace. There's something you have to see."

"Teeth?" She asked, smiling slightly at her own bad joke.

Jack laughed politely, "Do you know what the teeth hold? Do you know why they're so important?"

"No, Jack. I just assumed the Tooth Fairy had some weird obsession with them," She said, turning back over in the wind and looking away from the winter spirit. No, he was a Guardian now.

"Memories, Clem. They hold all of our memories."

She looked over at him suddenly and saw his smile grow wider, "What do you mean?"

"Memories of who we were before we became who we are now. You won't believe me if I tell you what I saw in my memories."

She was curious, but being with the Guardians was forbidden for her. She was Gaia's child. She had no business with Man in the Moon's children. She couldn't go there, no matter how much she wanted to. She really wanted to, though. She had always been curious about how she ended up on the edge of the pond. She even remembered Jack calling her Regina. She had thought he had mistaken her for someone else, but every once in a while, he would slip and call her Regina again. She wanted to know why, but she was conflicted. She couldn't betray her kind like that.

"I can't, Jack." She said sadly and flew off in a faster pace than she wanted.

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_I am on a roll these past few days! Woohoo! Go me! _

_Next chapter is coming up soon. Tomorrow sometime, so look for it. It won't be tonight since I have to pass out the moment Grimm is over._


	12. Chapter 12

_To the user that signed as Guest in the last review: you made me so happy! I'm so glad you enjoy my story so much and that you're able to feel with the characters! I'm so glad this story has your heart! Thank you! _

_Enjoy the drama._

Clementia was feeling awful. She couldn't believe that denying Jack's simple request had put such a damper on her mood. And it was still early. The day had started off wonderful and she was happy that hope and joy had been brought back into the world to the point that she wasn't needed for a while. She didn't know how long that would last, but it was enough of a break for her. Three hundred years without a single break and now she had gotten it. It was almost something to celebrate, until Jack asked her to spend time with him. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't.

His words still rang in her ears though. Who she was before she became who she was? What did he mean by that? She had always been Clementia, bringer of mercy and compassion. That was all she knew. There wasn't anything else to her. His words started to bring her doubt and this unsettled her. She had always known who she was and what she was supposed to do. The sisters and Gaia had told her all about herself. Gaia knew her the best. She was her creator after all.

Clementia kept her full speed until she arrived at the sanctuary that was Gaia's home. Home for all of them really, but everyone was always so busy that it was just considered Gaia's. The moment her sandaled feet touched down, Gaia was there, smiling ominously.

"Hello, Mother." Clementia said, bowing slightly before wandering into the exquisite building.

It resembled Tooth's palace, only it was made from trees and vines that were used as curtains. There weren't millions of fairies flitting about either, but the structure of it was close to the same. The trees spiraled and warped around, making it feel enchanted. Flowers blossomed everywhere and every single kind of plant that was in the world was growing in multiples. It was serene and it brought Clementia's previous mood back. It had been too long since she had been home.

"Could I have a word with you?" Gaia's silky voice asked. The woman turned and went behind one of the many vine curtains that led into the main part of the palace.

The younger deity followed, curious that Gaia would want a private word with her. Their rule was everything was public and everyone was to know what was being said. She must have done something horrendous to be summoned separately.

"I have heard from Theros and Cheimon that you have been spending time with Man in the Moon's child, Jack Frost." Gaia stated, touching the leaves of the tree and vines, reviving them.

"He was in the same area I was. I didn't seek him out," Clementia snapped unwillingly. This conversation had been had before and it was always the same. Occasionally, she felt as if they were trying to keep the two of them away. It was absurd since she knew all of the others didn't interact with Man in the Moon's children. It wasn't just her, she had to remind herself.

"This is the sixth time, Clementia. I don't want this to happen again." Her silk voice rose to a higher octave suddenly, as if she were suppressing the desire to scream.

"I don't do it on purpose, Mother!"

"Not the point! If I find out you have been spending any more time with Jack Frost, I will banish you!" She erupted, causing red flowers to blossom from the plant she was caressing in the attempt to remain calm.

"Banish me? Six times in three hundred years is _not_ that much. Whenever I do see him it is on accident."

"It does _not_ matter. You are a deity, a goddess, a child of mine while he is child of Man in the Moon. We do not acknowledge their existence, Clem. We have gone over this many times before. We are higher beings than them. They are made for children while we protect _all_ mortals, children and adults. Our history has a sensual and destructive past. We are a different breed than them."

Clementia sighed heavily, "We're all immortals, Mother. Some of us are lonely and just want someone to talk to from time to time."

"Not the point. Don't talk to him again or I will be forced to banish you."

She couldn't argue any longer. What Gaia said was final and she knew it. Her mood had taken a nosedive again. Maybe time off for her wasn't what she wanted. If she ever got another break, she would avoid Mother Nature. She really didn't understand why it was such a big deal. Her own mother had a secret infatuation on the Easter Bunny! How were the gods and goddesses supposed to ignore an entire _breed_ altogether? Gaia was asking too much of her. She couldn't always ignore Jack. His winter storms brought more despair to the mortal adults than people realized. Sometimes she had to be in the same area as him. What was she supposed to do, give him the cold shoulder?

Clementia left the palace in a rage. She had never been so confused in her life. She knew she would listen to her Mother, but it wasn't fair.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack was sitting on the ground in Tooth's palace, not paying attention as the millions of fairies swooped in and out around him. He ignored Tooth's rushed orders and random comments on teeth. He was there to ask the Guardian if she had Clementia's teeth. He knew she had to. He knew she was mortal and if what Tooth had said was true; she had everyone's teeth. He didn't know the rules about touching other people's teeth, but he wanted to see if he could give Clementia's hers. She needed to know about her past.

It took quite some time for Tooth to finally stop ordering her fairies around so she could talk to Jack. All of the Guardians had promised an open door to him whenever he wanted so he wasn't as lonely. He understood that they were busy and so was he, but this seemed important to him. Cheimon could handle cooler temperatures without him for a while.

"Hi Jack, I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." Tooth said, fluttering over him excitedly.

"Yeah, sorry about the random visit," He said, flashing his teeth for her. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you."

"Oh? What kind of favor?" Tooth's eyes widened at the sight of his teeth, smiling dreamily at him.

"You know the goddess Clementia?"

Tooth immediately frowned, taking her eyes off of his mouth and staring into his eyes, "Yes. What about her?"

"I was wondering if you still have her teeth."

Tooth was silent for a long time, scrutinizing him over and over again. After what felt like an eternity to Jack, "Why do you want to know?"

"I saw my memories and I know who she was before she became Clementia. She used to come visit me at the pond when she was still Regina. I found out that we were actually together before I died and I just want her to see that too." If Jack could blush, he would have. He knew the Guardians didn't think highly of Gaia and her children, but he wasn't sure any of them had actually spoken to one another.

Tooth's mouth hung open briefly, but then quickly looked apologetic to him, "I can't, Jack. I can't let you touch her teeth and I certainly can't let you try to pick up whatever you two had when you were alive. She was chosen for Gaia which means we can't have anything to do with them." She paused, placing a small hand on his shoulder, "No matter what, Jack. We shouldn't talk to them, ever. They're different from us."


	13. Chapter 13

_EmmerzK, my outline says you should get all of chapter 17! Guest, you should get an account so we can PM! _

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She felt like a rebellious child. She had been forbidden to do something and now the desire to do it had increased dramatically. Never in her three hundred years had she actually wanted to seek Jack out. She was sensible, though. She was not an impulsive person so she could resist the temptation to go behind Mother's back and talk to him. She didn't want to be banished. She had seen it happen to a few others for falling in love with mortals. She understood the magnitude of that. She didn't understand why it was such a big deal to talk to other immortals. They may not belong to the same family, but they were immortals. It was ridiculous to be threatened for such a thing.

She flew around, still unneeded. Whenever she felt a draft of cold air, she turned around and flew in the opposite direction. She didn't want to be tempted any more than she already was. She had to distract herself and she knew the perfect person to do that. He was annoying and conceited, but he was just what she needed at the moment. She could talk to him and not have to worry about being banished since he didn't belong to anyone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack left Tooth's in a sour mood. Not only did she forbid him from getting Clementia's box and urged him not to talk to her, but she didn't tell him why. Why wasn't he allowed to talk to her? They were different, but what did that have to do with anything? Tooth didn't seem to understand why it was so important to him that Clementia remembers him. Jack sometimes thought she didn't listen to half of the things he said and he really thought that when she was working. Her attention had to be split in so many places that he was sure it was hard for her to give directions, examine teeth, and have a conversation with him. Being immortal didn't always give you the ability to multitask that much.

Jack wanted to talk to someone that would listen to him. Maybe even give him some answers. North would be a good place to go, but the Russian was more of a father and would probably tell him the same thing Tooth had. They didn't like to explain things to him and expected him to just sit and listen. They expected him to behave and he had never done that; not even when he was mortal. North was out of the question the more he thought about it. Bunny was the last resort. They had bonded over the battle with Pitch, but he still wasn't someone that Jack wanted to turn to. Jack didn't want to give the giant rabbit something to make fun of him with. Tooth had almost made it sound absurd for him to even talk to a deity.

Sandy would listen and being a little more supportive. Sandy was the only one that liked Jack from the start. Although he was a mute, he could still give him advice.

Jack took to the clouds, flying around the world and searched for the golden man. He was lucky in Europe. A little gold cloud was hanging high in the sky over Brussels and millions of streams of dream sand made their way from the sky and into the windows of all the children. Jack smiled, flying around and grazing his finger through some of the streams. They all exploded with dolphins, unicorns, baseball games, or dinosaurs. Jack laughed, chasing one of the unicorns until it disappeared into its designated house. He couldn't be in a bad mood all the time and the thought of having a good conversation with his friend was lightening him.

Hey little man," Jack said, settling down on the small cloud, "How are you feeling?"

Sandy nodded his head and smiled brightly at Jack. He twisted his hands, making larger swirls in the streams.

"I just had an interesting conversation with Tooth," Jack started, suddenly not sure how to expression his concern and questions. Sandy simply formed a question mark over his head which urged Jack to continue. "I took another look into my memories and saw something interesting. I saw the goddess Clementia before she became Clementia."

Sandy nodded, pointing to him and forming an image of the goddess over his head then a picture of the pond and a gun.

Jack nodded, "Yeah, I was there when she died. That wasn't what I was talking about though."

Sandy turned to face the young Guardian completely, cocking his head in confusion.

"We were actually together before I became Jack Frost. I guess I was going to ask her to marry me before I died." Jack hung his head, hoping Sandy wouldn't judge him too harshly. A small gold hand patted him on the back suddenly and Jack looked up, seeing him smile sympathetically. "Tooth won't let me help Clementia remember me. She said I should just leave her alone and ignore all of the other gods and goddesses."

Sandy nodded solemnly, removing his hand and went back to forming the sand streams. Jack didn't notice they were moving across the sky and had moved into France.

"Sandy, I can't do that. She was my best friend for a long time. She would talk to me when no one else would. I can't just ignore her." Sandy shook his head, but didn't form anything over his head. Jack sighed heavily, tightening his grip on the staff. He just wanted answers. "Why are we not supposed to talk to them? Tooth won't tell me and I'm sick of not getting any answers."

Sandy hesitated for a moment, looking deep in thought. Suddenly, he raised a finger up as if he had an idea and the image of Bunny formed over his head.

"Ask Bunny? No way, little man. That is the last person I would ask for help. No offense."

Sandy frowned again, forming another picture over his head. This time it was of a woman and flowers growing from her fingers and then Bunny next to her. Jack thought he knew what Sandy was saying, but it sounded absurd. Guardians weren't supposed to talk to deities, so why would Bunny have anything to do with Mother Nature?

Jack thought for a moment, not sure if he should risk talking to the giant bunny or not. Sandy wasn't as much help as he had hoped. He could still turn to North, but that wasn't who Sandy suggested. Jack always trusted the dream giver. He couldn't be wrong.

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_Sorry it's a little shorter than usual….not by much though, maybe a hundred words. Next chapter should be funny and informative. Any guesses who Clementia is going to go see?_


	14. Chapter 14

Jack didn't know all of the ways to get a hold of the other Guardians without the aurora signal. He did the only thing he knew, but was surprised when Bunny was standing in front of the portal with his arms crossed and looking displeased.

"Ya make an awful racket coming in," Said Bunny, nose twitching in irritation.

"The portal is fun. I can't help but be excited when I travel down it, "Jack laughed, straightening his hoodie and picking his staff back up.

The pooka smiled slightly, turning away from the winter spirit. Jack followed him, but watched as the tiny eggs scampered around. Some of them were tumbling around as if showing off. Others ran in the other directions, seemingly afraid to be stepped on.

"Sandy told me ya'd be coming." Bunny said suddenly, picking up a couple random white eggs into his arms.

"How? I just left him." Jack wanted to know how they communicated. He knew he had a lot to learn about being a Guardian, but he was getting frustrated that they weren't letting him in on it already.

"Sand streams, mate."

Jack nodded, realizing they did have their magical abilities that could be used for other things than the children. Jack had to ask, "Did he tell you why?"

"No, he just sent me a gold snowflake."

Jack frowned, hoping that Sandy would have told him the reason. He really didn't want to say it out loud to Bunny. He wasn't ashamed, by any means; he just didn't want to be lectured again. Tooth had been bad enough. There had to be a way to get what he needed from him without bringing up Clementia and his past with her. Thinking, he bent down and picked up one of the designed eggs that had just sprouted from a flower. It kicked its tiny legs in desperation and Jack couldn't help but laugh.

"Did ya need anything important?" Bunny asked, only exposing his ears from behind the egg shaped stones.

"Yeah," Jack said distractedly, he set the egg back down and stood up. "Sandy said you and Mother Nature had, uh…"

"Wait!" Bunny exclaimed, hopping over the stone and into Jack's face. "Whatever he told you, ain't true."

"He didn't really tell me anything, he just hinted at it," Jack said in surprise. He was honest, but he knew that now Bunny was lying. The rabbit had gotten too defensive too quickly. He was hiding something and it spiked Jack's curiosity. If his story would tell him anything about being able to be with Clementia, he wanted to know.

"Gaia and I were just friends. That's all we ever were."

"Whatever you say, Bunny! I was just hoping you could help me." Jack said, raising his hands apologetically.

"Help ya with what?" He leaned in, eyes narrowing as he stared into Jack's eyes.

Jack stammered for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to say it out loud. "I saw my memories."

"And?"

"I was….with someone before we both became immortals."

That made Bunny back off, now looking at him in awe and confusion. "What do ya mean '_both'_?"

"Well, she became an immortal when she died and so did I."

"Did ya two die together?"

"No, no, it isn't like that. She died after me and became one of Gaia's children."

Bunny crossed his arms, still staring at Jack. "Look, I think I know what you're asking and it just ain't possible. Not anymore."

"What do you mean anymore? Why can't we talk to them at all?" Jack's voice cracked in desperation. He just wanted answers and he wanted them now. Bunny had them all, he realized. Bunny knew why everything was the way it was.

Bunny hesitated, looking around for a moment, "It's a long story."

"We have time," Jack snapped.

"All right, sit down."

Jack sat on top of the nearest stone, mean eyes peaking over the earth. Bunny began pacing, ears folding down as he thought deeply. "All right, it starts… quite a long time ago."

"I figured."

"Don't. Just don't talk." Bunny pointed his paw at him, "A long time ago, there was no separation between us. We could even work together, so Gaia and I would often spend time bringing hope and spreading the sense of new beginnings to everyone. It wasn't anything to worry about since everything seemed to be working out really well. We, Guardians have always been invisible to the ones that didn't believe in us; that much has never changed. But, Gaia and her cronies used to be visible to everyone, including mortals. Some of them fell in love with the deities, and if you know anything about love you know it can cause bad things to happen. Obsession and wars have been started because of it. Guardians, as you know, protect everyone. Gaia doesn't have to protect anyone. She and her family just have to do their jobs and leave the mortals alone. Love started the friction. There was a war that was about to start between Gaia and the mortals. We had to step in and stop it, but the consequence of that is the grudge Gaia has for us now." Bunny stopped talking, looking from the ground to Jack, ears hanging low, "I loved her, mate. She just couldn't believe we chose mortals over them."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Clementia found him in France. He was usually easy to find since he left a trail of magic and swooning girls wherever he was. She just had to look for the highly infatuated areas. Cupid was always the easiest deity to find.

When she approached him, she noticed he already had company. Standing beside him on the rooftop of Bascilia of the Sacre Coeur was a man dressed in black and with black hair that was slicked back across his head. She had seen him only once before, but never knew his name. She slowed her pace, watching the two men interact. The man in black shifted shapes and Cupid laughed loudly, leaning onto his bow for support. The man changed into another creature and Cupid laughed again. The man changed back into his original form, waving his hands while talking excitedly. She saw Cupid look over and wave to her.

She had no choice now but to interrupt their conversation.

"Hey Clem!"

She smiled to Cupid, landing next to the man in black cautiously.

"This is Loki." He pointed to the mysterious man. The man instantly bowed and bid farewell, not saying a single word to her. She didn't mind. She wasn't one to do much small talk. Now, she was able to distract herself with Cupid and his attempted to charm her. He wasn't the love god for nothing. However, she didn't call him Cupid to his face. His name was actually Amor and he was special. He dealt with love and desire, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary; someone had to have that job. His history was what was special. He didn't belong to anyone. No one created him. He just sort of appeared one day in Rome.

Since he didn't belong to either family, she was free to talk to him as often as she wanted. She had often found one of the sisters flirting with him. He had become one of her confidants without realizing it. Although he was good looking, she didn't find him as attractive as the others did. She didn't flirt with him and he liked that about her. His charms were useless on her. He said he knew why, but never told her.

"What's wrong with my favorite mercy-giver?" He laughed, moving to the edge of the building and watched the crowd.

"Gaia threatened me."

"Oh? What did you do?" He pulled out an arrow from the sheath on his back.

"Spoke to Jack Frost again. She said she'd banish me if I did it again." She said in her dainty voice, crouching down next to him.

"Really? That seems a bit harsh….but it is Gaia." He aimed and released without any hesitation. Clementia felt a little sorry for whoever that arrow struck. She'd more than likely have to console them within a few weeks. "Well, get banished and hang out with me all the time."

"Amor! I can't do that," She feigned shock. She expected such a reply from him. "I have duties to do and I don't think I could do them if I was no longer a part of her family. She'd probably strip me off all powers."

"She may be your mother and creator, but she can't do that. Your powers are yours." He paused, looking up to the sky for a moment, "Why are you talking to Frost?"

"You're not my only friend, you know. He's interesting." Clementia tried to hide her smile.

Cupid smiled widely at her, nodding his head slowly. She knew what he was thinking and she wanted to argue with him, but he wouldn't listen. He was the god of love and he thought he knew everything about it. "Do what you think is best, Clem. That's the only advice I can give you."

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_Guest, you are mysterious. It's whatever you want, of course! LOL. _

_Hope this answered some things for everyone. This also is a bit longer, but I had to make up for the last chapter._


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey EmmerzK, I couldn't help but not update. This chapter was just too cool!_

_Sorry if I don't get North's accent right! I tried!_

* * *

Gaia had only been to the North Pole once before in all of her thousands of years. She was surprised how little it had changed since then. The only major difference was the yetis that seemed to have swarmed the workshop. Last time she had been there, it was only North making the toys with the occasional competent elf. Now, the tiny elves were wreaking havoc all over the place and the yetis had to stop what they were doing to shoo the creatures away. Gaia grimaced at the sight. _She_ would never let her home and workshop become such a disorganized mess. How did North get anything done in this place?

"Mother!" bellowed the rotund man furiously, "What are you doing here?"

"We have a situation, North." Gaia said in a no nonsense tone, crossing her arms over her chest and waited.

"Serious situation?"

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't." She said, still waiting for him to lead her into some place a little more private. She didn't want to discuss the flaw in her family with the yetis and elves around.

The large man studied her, rubbing his beard covered chin for a moment. She was a busy woman and didn't have time for him to waste. She started tapping her foot impatiently, glaring at the large man. "Very well, follow me."

Finally! She followed him promptly, weaving away from the large beasts as they carried toys and piles of presents. She tried her best not to touch them since she didn't know where they had been. The elves were the hardest to avoid as she ascended the many levels of the workshop. They seemed to be trying to trip her. Eventually she lost her patience and aimed a kick at one of them. After it let out a startled squeal, the others left her alone. North opened the large wooden door to his study and gestured her inside. There was only a single chair, but since she was Gaia and also a guest, she decided to seat herself in it. It was three times too large for her, but it was still comfortable. It was also quiet compared to the noise just outside the room. North didn't say anything about her taking his chair, but clapped his hands together to indicate he was ready for business.

"I heard you gained a new Guardian." Gaia said, tapping her long finger against one of the many ice sculpture toys.

North nodded, but waited.

"He seems to be causing quite a bit of trouble for one of my children." She looked up, narrowing her eyes.

"He is Guardian of Fun. He means no harm," The man crossed his arms over her large chest.

"He may be fun for you, but he needs to know not to interfere with my kind. Have you told him the rules, especially now that he's a Guardian?"

"No, but I was unaware of his doings. I will talk to him."

"We need to set up some boundaries, I guess. He seems to be following her quite often. Six times in three hundred years is too often for my liking, North." She leaned back casually now.

"He'll not be problem anymore." North waved his hand dismissively, laughing lightly.

Gaia sighed heavily, heaving herself from the chair. He obviously didn't think Jack Frost was a problem and she would trust him this one time. However, she knew that if the new Guardian stepped out of line again, not only would North have to pay, but she would have to punish her own child and she did not like doing that.

Once she was out into the cluttered workshop again, she noticed for the first time the enormous globe that was glowing brightly. She had to admire it before she left. She had never seen it before, but she could assume what it was used for.

"It was nice for you to stop by." North said as quietly as he could, "Like old times."

Gaia could only scowl though. She didn't want to be here, but she wanted to look out for her children. She turned away from the Guardian of Wonder just in time to see the moonbeams shine through the skylight and form shadows across the concrete floor.

She gasped and took a step back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Denmark was the first place she had to go since the defeat of Pitch. The voices came back slowly over the days, but none of them were dire enough to need her help. However, for April and in it being one of the most snow-prone countries in the world, there was hardly any of the white powder. It was almost like Jack hadn't been there at all over the past couple of days. She hoped nothing had happened to him since she last talked to him, but it wasn't like she could go looking for him. She was actually there for work, but she had hoped to cross paths with him.

She wouldn't be able to talk to him, of course, but she just wanted to see him and make sure she hadn't upset him at all. Cupid hadn't been as much help as she had hoped, but he was still able to distract her for a few days. Traveling around with him had been relaxing and she had assumed that was what a vacation was like. She had heard of them from some mortals a while ago and had always wanted to try it. She had even witnessed one of the sisters, Eiar fly in just to see him. She claimed she was coming by to check on Clementia, but the moment she saw Cupid, it was all over. Clementia had never seen the Spring deity blush so much. Amor was naturally flattered and flirted right back. He was suave, but she knew it was an act. He held no interest in anyone. He was more interested in finding out where he came from. It had always been his question and Clementia wanted to find out just as much as he did. She was always a very good friend.

Currently, she was sitting on top of the Domus Vista, cooling her hand from the most recent compassion act. She would have thought that over three hundred years, the burning sensation wouldn't affect her as much, but it was still unsettling to have to deal with the redness and the attempts of blisters on her palms. She was trying her best to behave herself and not think about the winter spirit, but the more she tried not to, the more she actually did. It was frustrating and her usually large and neat pile of black hair was not cascading down her back. She liked to look the part of a goddess, but she was sure other members of her family weren't suffering from threats of being banished and conflicting feelings for a Guardian.

"Interesting to find you here," a cool voice said from behind her and immediately made her lips twitch in a small smile.

She looked over her shoulder to see the one person she was trying not to think about, staring at her and smile his brilliant smile. She could only force the small smile into a frown and looked back to the city. She wanted nothing more than to talk to him. The consequences were severe, though. Jack moved closer to her and sat beside her, watching the people busy themselves with their daily lives. Just overhead, Clementia could see the dark clouds moving in and knew that Jack was bringing in the snow. She wondered how much ice he would spread once she left.

"I became a Guardian, by the way," Jack tried to make conversation. She couldn't respond. If any immortal saw them together, she wanted to be able to say she had not spoken to him.

Jack tried again, "I know we're not supposed to talk, but I do have something really important to tell you. I just want a few minutes of your time."

She hung her head, wanting to join him so badly. She moved her shaking hands into her lap and held them tightly. She couldn't talk to him and she definitely couldn't touch him. The wind picked up suddenly and she had thought he was getting upset, but the sound of footsteps thumping behind them let her know another immortal had joined them. She bit her bottom lip, praying it wasn't Gaia or one of the sisters. She liked the sisters, but they told Mother everything.

"Oh, hey Cupid!" Jack said jovially, tossing his staff over his shoulder nonchalantly. She could just imagine the expression on the love god's face; he really despised the name. That little bit of interaction just showed the difference between the two men's personalities. Jack was always mischievous and sarcastic while Amor was flirty, but serious. Usually everything he said he was honest about.

"What are you doing here, Frost?"

"Just spending quality time with my favorite girl." Jack said, smiling triumphantly.

Clementia looked over to Cupid, cocking an eyebrow at him. The god of love smiled smugly and it disconcerted her.

"Your favorite girl? I thought the Tooth Fairy was your favorite. You seem to have spent an awful lot of time with her recently."

Jack's smile disappeared instantly and Clementia could feel something bubble in her chest that made her shift uncomfortably. "I was with all of the Guardians, Cupid."

Amor shrugged, moving to sit on the other side of her. It was a strange event to happen suddenly. She had never expected to be surrounded by her friends at once before and she could only assume it was a foreshadowing of what might happen soon.

"Being the god of love has its faults, you know." Amor said randomly after a few minutes, staring down at the mortals below.

Jack sighed heavily, "And what's that?"

"I can't affect people who have already met their true loves without my help," Amor leaned back against his arms, still smiling smugly. "Clementia is one of the only ones I can't persuade with my charms because she loves someone else."

Clementia felt her eyes widen, knowing exactly what he was hinting at.

* * *

_This is a little longer! I really like writing Amor, LOL. We'll find out what Manny has to say next chapter! Oh man, it'll be eventful!_


	16. Chapter 16

_I hope no one is upset with what I did with Manny in this chapter. I did some research on him. I saw the drawings of him too. I just couldn't write it all out using shadows._

_P.S. I wrote some more Amor and Jack for those of you who loved their little banter. I also wanted to clear up the Tooth comment. I didn't explain it at all and I need to. _

* * *

North was standing quite still as he watched the moonbeams move across the floor, making shadow puppets. Gaia recovered quickly, crossing her arms and growing impatient. She could tell what he was trying to say to them, but she also knew one of his secrets, but obviously North didn't. The shadow puppets changed into Jack Frost then into Clementia.

"What about them?" North asked, frowning up to the moon.

Exasperated, Gaia yelled, "Quit being so mysterious and get down here!"

She knew him all too well. She had known him long before any of the Guardians had been chosen or even existed. She knew what he looked like and even knew the sound of his voice. She wondered if any of the Guardians knew what he looked like. From North's sudden change in expression from her statement led her to believe he didn't.

The moonbeams flickered for a moment longer but then faded and shortly afterward, something that wasn't quite solid but more than a gas appeared in front of them. He was a short man, maybe a few inches taller than Sandman. He was bald expect for the single, long strand of blonde hair sticking up from his head. He had a darker complexion and a large smile on his face.

"Tsar!" Gaia smiled finally, clapping her hands together.

"Manny?" North said in a hushed tone.

The Man in the Moon nodded to North and bowed lowly to Gaia.

"Sorry to have been so mysterious all these years, old friend." The man named Tsar said in a hoarse voice, "It was just safer to remain on the moon after everything had happened."

"With Pitch?"

"That…and Gaia. She has quite the temper on her." Manny smiled again, looking from North to Gaia.

"Down to business, Tsar," Gaia snapped, rolling her eyes at the men. "What were you telling us about my Clementia and Frost?"

Tsar chuckled at her impatience, "Why did you choose her to be your next child?"

Gaia's eyes widened, "She showed the traits of being a very kind and compassionate person."

"How long did you watch over her?"

North was looking between the two, confusion etched clearly across his enormous face.

"Not very long, maybe a year in mortal years," Gaia admitted, suddenly realizing she must have missed something important.

Tsar nodded slowly, "You must not have seen who she had been romantically involved in beforehand."

Gaia pursed her lips, already wanting to walk away from the conversation. She always had a hard time talking to him for a long period of time. He always assumed he knew so much more than she did, but he rarely came to the earth. She assumed the last time she had seen him was the last time he had left the moon. "Get to the point."

"She and Jack Frost have a history. They were involved before they died. Did you not notice her constant presence by the pond? What about Jack always being there as well? Even know that they know they're not supposed to speak to each other, they are still doing so. There is something there that can't be stopped, no matter how hard you try," He paused, staring Gaia down intensely, "You claim to know your children better than they do. Do you know how Clementia really feels about him? Do you know that she's conflicted between doing what her heart wants and what her mind tells her is right?"

"If you knew I was choosing his previous lover, why didn't you stop me?"

"I held hope that this was your way of getting over the grudge." Tsar said simply, turning his attention back to North. "I just thought I should let the two of you know why it'll be difficult to separate those two. Even Amor can't do anything about them." He smiled brightly, "True love renders him powerless."

"Tsar, there has to be some way to stop them." Gaia shouted, rage growing inside her that she would more than likely be powerless to stop a deity and Guardian from falling in love. She had spent so long trying to avoid it. Deities were only allowed to fall in love with other deities. She didn't want any of her children to suffer the heart break she had all those years ago.

"Nothing to my knowledge, Mother, but you're intelligent so I'm sure you can think of something." Tsar began to flicker, just like his moonbeams had. The last look she had of him was him smiling sadly at her and it pulled at something in her heart.

Once he was gone completely, she huffed loudly, irritation overpowering the strange feeling, "Fine, I'll deal with it myself."

North looked at her, still speechless. She rolled her eyes, not willing to wait for him to come to his sense and talk to her. She knew she had to think of something and fast. She could not let the word get around that they had been mortal lovers. Her entire image would be ruined and she had worked so hard to convince the others that it was wrong. She flew out of the workshop without any farewell and began to think. The flight back to her palace was fast, almost as if she had used one of North's snow globes.

She paced her main tower, ignoring any of the other immortals that flew in and out. How could she separate them completely? Banishing her would only allow her to spend more time with the Guardian without consequences. She couldn't keep her locked in the palace; Frost would more than likely find a way in. The sisters had told her before that Frost had no qualms about breaking rules.

"Mother," Hermes, the messenger of the deities, said to her in an urgent tone, "Hades is here to see you."

Gaia looked up, an idea suddenly presenting itself. She couldn't help but smile and beckoned the god of the Underworld in.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack hated feeling helpless. He had no idea what he could do or say to make Clementia talk to him. He stayed with her until long after Cupid had left. He tried and tried to make her talk to him, but she just sat there, completely silent. Now, he was still in Denmark and letting the snow get heavier and the ice thicker. They weren't prepared for a blizzard, but Jack couldn't help but let his anger out. Not only was he angry at himself and Clementia, but also at the love god. He was completely out of line for bringing up Tooth in front of Clementia.

He was well aware that Tooth and her fairies found him attractive, but by the time they defeated Pitch, he felt she was more of a mother than anything else. She was protective of him and he couldn't see her as anything other than a motherly friend. Regardless of her feelings for him, he wasn't interested. She hadn't paid him any mind in the past three hundred years, so he still held a small grudge against her.

As he flew around, finally leaving Denmark and entering Germany, he caught sight of a small red trail of magic, almost like Sandy's dream sand. He knew who it belonged to and he debated whether or not he should follow it and let the unclaimed deity have a piece of his mind. He growled lowly, letting his impulses win. He didn't want to talk to him, but he was the god of love and he would be able to help him out better than anyone else. It also didn't hurt that he was Clementia's friend.

Cupid, or as the others called him Amor, was standing on top of the Brandenburger Tor. He was hanging onto the chariot that was drawn by four horses and driven by Victoria, the goddess of victory. She was one of the more annoying deities that had been around almost as long as Gaia herself. Jack used his staff, tapping against the pillars of the gate and watched as it froze quickly and went up to the god's hand.

"What in the -?!" Amor yelled, letting go of the statue and nearly losing his balance. Jack couldn't help but laugh, flying lazily in the wind around Amor and the chariot. "Frost! What do you think you're doing?"

"Having some fun," Jack laughed again, finally landing on the opposite side of Amor. He smiled smugly, feeling better already.

"Can't get enough of me, huh?" Amor said, trying to sound confidant while shaking the frost from his hand.

"You wish, Cupid." Jack scoffed, swinging his staff threateningly. He wasn't a fan of the god's work since he seemed to flirt with anything that walked by him. Jack was always so confused at how he and Clementia had become friends. He would have been jealous, but the conversation earlier had seemed to answer a few things. "I have some questions for you."

"Oh? What does the brand new Guardian of Children wish to ask me?" Amor cocked an eyebrow at him, but turned and aimed his bow and arrow at a passing couple. Jack winced when he saw the arrow release. "If it's about Clem, I won't answer anything. She can't talk to you and I'm not about to play messenger boy."

"I'm not asking you to talk to her for me. I can talk to her by myself." Jack snapped, finally relaxing his stance and swinging his staff over his shoulder. "First off, where do you get off saying something about Tooth in front of Clementia? She's just a friend and you know that."

"I do," Amor said, frowning as he still watched the mortals move below them. "I had to do something to make her realize how she felt."

"What do you mean?"

Amor turned away suddenly, smiling brightly at Jack in an amused way, "Do you know about you and Clementia?"

"I saw my memories, so I know that we used to be together. If it were at all possible, I would like to be with her again."

Amor laughed deeply, leaning on his bow for support, "You two are true loves! You always have been. I had to say something about Tooth to make Clementia feel jealousy which will usually make people admit they like someone. It worked, by the way. Just don't get your hopes up on being with her any time soon. Gaia has threatened to banish her is she speaks to you again."

"Banish her?" Jack was shocked. He had never heard of someone being banished before.

"How much do you know, Jack? Do you know why the two of you can't speak to each other and why it would be impossible to be with her?"

"I do." Jack said shortly, frowning at the god of love.

"Oh good," Amor turned his back to him again and raised his bow and arrow again, "So what's the problem?"

Jack sighed heavily, not believing he had to ask the one person he disliked more than Bunny, "How do I make her remember me… or at least fall in love with me again?"

Amor took his time aiming and releasing. When he turned to look at Jack again, his smile was smug and an eyebrow was cocked. Jack did not want to boost his already large ego any more. "Let me get this straight, you two were together before you both died?"

Jack nodded, his patience ebbing away slowly.

"You both lost your memories of each other until recently?"

Jack huffed, "I just got mine back when I found my tooth box that held all of my memories, but Clementia doesn't remember me."

"And you want me to help you with that?" Amor rubbed his chin, "No can do. I spread love, not memories. Why can't you just get her memory box or whatever and make her remember you that way?"

"Tooth won't let me touch them."

Amor nodded slowly, still smiling smugly. He was obviously enjoying Jack's desperation. "I don't know, Frost. Take her to some of the places you went when you two were mortals. Maybe that will spark something."

The pond! Jack beamed at Amor suddenly and flew off without a thank you or farewell.

* * *

_Did I clear it up? _

_Fluff is in the next chapter so be excited! I get to go back to work tomorrow so I don't know when I'll be able to write and post. Sorry!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Can I complain for a minute? I feel like I'm turning into Jack Frost. I'm cold all the time and I live in Georgia! This is not normal. I should be sweating, but I just feel like a giant icicle. _

_Anyway, thank you EmmerzK for this grand idea!_

* * *

Amor had appeared in front of her suddenly. This was starting to concern her that she had now seen him three times in a little more than the mortal time scale of twenty-four was silent as they held eye contact, but that wasn't what concerned her. His expression was grim instead of his usual arrogant and smug look.

"Again Amor?" She tried to say in a confident voice, but she was sure she had squeaked.

"I have a favor to ask you, and trust me when I say it's a favor to _me_," Amor finally said, leaning down to become eye level with her. "Go see Frost and talk to him. He has important things to discuss with you."

"I can't," She snapped, "I can't risk the chance of being banished. You don't know what Mother's wrath is like, Amor."

"Who cares about her? She'll get over it. I know you're one of her favorites so I'm sure she'll be a little more lenient on you." Amor cooed, trying to sound convincing.

Clementia only let out a heavy sigh, standing up because she was at a loss. She had no idea what to do anymore. She had always liked Jack, but ever since Amor had mentioned Tooth, she was starting to feel something different. She had thought it was just a friendly affection for him like how she felt towards Amor, but now something was stirring inside her. She wondered if it was possible for a deity to fall in love with a Guardian. She had never heard of such things, but she assumed it was reasonable. They were both immortals, after all.

She slumped her shoulders, and decided just to ask the god of love all of her questions. He would more than likely have answers for her. "Why do I feel like this? I really don't understand why I'm so conflicted about spending time with him. I've just spent my days doing my duties and minding my own business, but whenever he's around I want to forget everything and go off and have fun with him."

Amor smiled, "Deities are allowed feelings too. Just spend time with him and you might figure them out."

"You didn't answer me, Amor."

"I can't give you that answer, Clem." He crossed his tones arms over his chest.

"But you know, don't you?" She pouted slightly. He only nodded slowly.

"Why did you're comment about Tooth bother me so much?"

This time he laughed, "Because you have feelings for Jack, Clem. Don't worry about feeling like that. She isn't anything to worry about, I promise."

Now Clementia hung her head, feeling elated but still thoroughly confused. "Is it okay for a deity to like a Guardian?"

Amor nodded, "There has been quite the history of them. It was forbidden before you came around though, which is unfortunate for you and Jack."

"Why was it forbidden?" She tried to hide her curiosity. She knew it was a bad trait to have, but it might hold some answers for her.

"Something happened between Gaia and one of the Guardians. I don't know all of the details since I wasn't involved in it. Ares had a hand in it all, though. I heard it got pretty ugly."

Mother Nature had been involved with a Guardian? Everything made sense with just that little bit of information. Clementia had never experienced heart break, but she was sure it had to be painful.

Courage raced through her suddenly, now feeling like she knew enough to back up her impulse to spend time with Jack. She smiled at Amor and was just about to turn and fly off when another question formed in her mind, "Why is this a favor to you?"

Amor laughed loudly, throwing his head back as the sound resounded from him, "That Frost won't leave me alone and you know I like my solitude."

She nodded, laughing lightly and flew off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She found him in Canada, flying around in a bored manner. When she first spotted him, she wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to catch up. She never thought she was a slow flier, but compared to Jack, she was a snail. It took a while and a lot of her yelling, but eventually the wind carried her voice to him. She saw him turn in the wind, smiling brightly at her. He almost looked like he had been waiting for her.

As soon as she caught up to him, she smiled almost like the last time he had made her smile.

"About time you showed up!" Jack called, now riding his staff confidently.

She frowned at him, wondering if he really had been waiting on her. However, he laughed childishly and slowed his pace. She felt the rush in her body when he laughed like that. It felt like she was breaking all the rules and was about to have the time of her life. She felt like she was about to have _fun._ She had always wanted to know what a day was like for Jack Frost, the new Guardian of Fun.

They flew silently for a while. She let Jack lead the way without actually telling him she was here to hear what he had to say. She had patience and a lot of it, but she was expecting some kind of confession from him almost immediately. Maybe that was just her hopeful thinking.

"Where are we going?" She asked eventually when they starting approaching warmer weather.

"It's a surprise." Jack said smugly, slowing his pace to fly beside her.

She saw him move the staff to his other hand so the one that was closest to her was available. She frowned, wondering if he thought she would fall. But then she realized he must have wanted to hold her hand. She wasn't about to do that. She wasn't even sure of her feelings so she would not lead him into thinking she even thought of him in a romantic way. She decided to fall back slightly so she wasn't parallel with his hand. The flight remained silent until she noticed Jack starting to descend from the clouds. Suddenly, she was nervous. All of the doubts she had been ignoring during their flight had resurfaced and she was thinking twice about joining him. Did she really want to risk getting banished for hanging out with Jack Frost? All of her courage left her.

Slowly, they came into view of a small town. She had been there before. It was the same town she went to the night Jack had defeated Pitch.

"What are we doing here? Its springtime and you'll only make Eiar mad." She shouted at Jack, but he seemed unfazed. He led her lower until they were coming upon a small pond just on the outskirts of the town. She saw the same red house she had been in to comfort the woman.

Jack landed beside the pond, staff over his shoulder like always. She landed beside him apprehensively and waited. Something was familiar about the area, but she wasn't sure what. It was almost like she had been there before. Jack smiled to her, brushing past her and crouched just next to the water's edge. She followed, still hoping he would tell her what he'd been wanting to for the past few days. It was still surprising so much had happened in just a short amount of time.

"Do you remember this pond?" Jack asked in a hushed tone, his head hanging low as he watched the fish swim.

She stared around at it for a moment, trying to recognize anything about it. She had seen him here a couple times, but she didn't have anything to link her to it. She shook her head when Jack looked up at her.

"No, probably not; it has been over three hundred years since you've been here and things have changed." Jack said, looking back out into the water. "This is where you became Clementia. This is also where I became Jack Frost. You used to spend so much time here and talk to me. It was like you were my best friend, but I knew you couldn't see me. You would tell me all about your day and how much you missed me." He paused, closing his eyes. "I watched you die and when I went off to—to—try and help, you changed. When I came back, you were gone. I found you later and you were Clementia. You had no idea who I was."

Clementia felt her mouth fall open, mixed emotions spreading across her face.

"The thing is, right before you died, you saw me. You knew who I was before you died and it was your last _mortal_ word. Do you remember Theros coming to get you?"

"I remember you finding me and I was crying. I remember being confused about who you and Theros were, but she took me to see Gaia and they explained everything. I still didn't have any idea who you were, but they just told me to stay away from you. I would see you every once in a while. Any time we spoke to each other in passing, I would get into trouble. It got harder, Jack, to stay away from you. The more they told me not to, the more I wanted to."

Jack laughed, standing up suddenly. "There's hope for you yet," He extended his hand for her to grab onto. She reached for it, feeling relaxed in his cold temperature. She was always so warm from her powers that his chilling effect felt amazing. "Let's take a walk; a real walk that doesn't require flying."

She smiled slightly, keeping hold of his hand. They talked briefly, just reveling in each other's presence. She couldn't help but feel as if breaking the rules was the best thing in the world. She couldn't help but notice the smirk that was growing on Jack's lips. It was getting wider and wider like he was planning something mischievous. Once they passed a large flock of geese, his hand slipped from hers. For a second she thought he was going to chase the birds, but his cold hands went to her waist and within another second, she was in the water.

She shrieked, cursing loudly. Over the three hundred years, she had picked up quite a few unladylike words. She couldn't believe he would do such a thing. She swam to the shore, splashing as much water at him as she could. Naturally, he froze them all, creating midair ice sculptures. He was doubling over, laughing loudly and clutching his side. The sight made her feel nostalgic, but she wasn't sure why. Once she pulled herself out, her attire was soaking and her once goddess-like hair was matted to her face and neck. She glared at him, not finding it amusing at all.

"Clementia, I want to apologize for my behavior today. I should not have pushed you into the pond when you were not expecting it." He said, almost sounding forced. He was still laughing.

She pursed her lips, not believing him at all. But once again, nostalgia bloomed in her chest. It felt like they had done this before. So, for the first time she laughed out loud, forgetting how ridiculous she looked and joined the Guardian in fits of laughter and joy. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to have fun.

* * *

_Maybe it's not a fluffy as you were expecting, but EmmerzK and I were banging our heads together to try and make this sappy fluff and it wasn't working. I still think it's cute and it fits in with their relationship. _


	18. Chapter 18

Clementia wanted to know what Jack knew. The nostalgic feeling never left her when she was around the frozen teenager and her curiosity was reaching its limit. She wasn't a subtle person, but she wanted to find a clever way to ask about what he had said to her earlier. He had told her Tooth had her memories. She hadn't forgotten it at all, but her loyalty was much stronger than her curiosity. She just had to think of bringing the topic up without coming out blatantly and asking him to retrieve her memories for her. She could get into severe trouble for spending time with Jack, but if she was to show up at Tooth's then she would more than certainly get banished.

"Jack," she asked in her daintiest voice, "Do you remember the night you found me? Do you remember what you called me?"

Jack looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise, "I do."

"Why did you call me Regina?"

He sighed heavily, stuffing his free hand into his sweater pocket, "That was your mortal name."

She nodded silently, waiting before she asked her next question. Her clothes were drying slowly in the spring heat, but with Jack beside her, she was still feeling the chill of his body. She wasn't uncomfortable, but she was wishing she was in dry clothes. She frowned, still thinking of how she would ask him. She sighed quietly, blowing a stray strand of black hair out of her face, "Did you lose your memories when you died?"

He nodded, twirling his staff around so that it was digging a hole into the mud.

"You said you got them back from one of Tooth's boxes? What did you see from your past?" She dared to move an inch closer to him, not caring if her pink and red robes got dirty from the mud.

Jack looked up at her, smirking slightly and she could see his eyes gleam almost menacingly, "I saw my sister and my mother. I saw a lot of things from my past and then it all made sense. I saw how I died and—"

"How did you die?" She interrupted, biting her bottom lip from her rudeness.

"I drowned. It was winter time and my sister and I were going to go ice skating on this pond," He pointed to the water that was much warmer than it looked. "The ice started cracking so I pulled her out of harm's way, but that only made me fall in. At least I saved her." He forced a smile, looking at her sadly.

She swallowed thickly, placing a hand on his again so she could use her power of compassion for him. She was surprised when nothing burned, though. It was almost as if he didn't need it. He wasn't upset about dying at all. He was completely content with how his life had turned out. She smiled slightly again, grasping his hand tighter than before, "Can I ask you another question?"

Jack laughed lightly, "Of course. I've wanted to talk to you for a long time so you can ask me anything you want."

"How did I die?"

Jack's smile vanished immediately. He was solemn and turned his eyes away from hers. He stared off into the water, obviously deep in thought. After a while, she thought he wasn't going to answer her, but then his deep voice said in a hushed tone, almost like he hadn't spoken in years, "You had a fiancé, but you came to this pond to talk to me every night. One night, he followed you and got upset that you were wandering around alone. He said there were monsters in the woods and that it wasn't safe anymore. You said no. The two of you argued a little and during that argument you said you wouldn't marry him. So he—he shot you."

"What?"

Jack nodded grimly, "I witnessed it all."

She frowned, "I know I shouldn't ask this, but what happened to the fiancé?"

Jack stammered, running his fingers through his frosted hair. "He, uh, he….Clem, I killed him. I'm sorry. I was so upset that he killed you right in front of me. I didn't know what to do. I had only been a spirit for three years so my powers were still new and I just… I just got carried away."

She was confused. "Why would you be so upset about me dying that you had to get carried away and kill a mortal?"

He sighed, "Do you want to see your memories? It'll be easier for you to do that instead of me trying to explain it all."

She bit her lip, trying to stop her eager smile. Jack could see it though, and he smiled brightly. "I'll be back."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack flew to Tooth's palace as quietly as he could. The mini fairies fluttered around busily, seemingly ignoring him. He could hear Tooth shouting out directions from a distance. She had told him once before how she had organized her teeth, so Jack flew to the furthest pillar that was supposed to be North America's. He knew the lower he went on the pillar the older the teeth were. His breathing became heavier out of fear and adrenaline. He knew Tooth would be furious at him if she found out what he was after. He hovered around the end of the pillar, examining all of the pictures carefully. He knew what Regina looked like, but he couldn't believe how many people had brown hair. He was feeling panicked the longer he took. He felt like he was about to be caught at any moment. It thrilled him; he was mischievous after all, but he didn't want to cross Tooth.

A tiny fluttering sound suddenly came next to him. He jumped away from the teeth to try and act casual, like he had just flown in. Baby Tooth was flying by him, smiling at him. He relaxed, knowing she wouldn't give him away. He flashed his teeth at her in a large smile and she swooned. He always thought it was amusing that his teeth had that effect on them. He had to take advantage of it when he could. She landed on his shoulder and he took his chance.

"Baby Tooth, where's Clementia's teeth? Don't tell Tooth, but I need them." Baby Tooth looked at him disapprovingly and rolled her eyes. "Please, Baby Tooth."

She fluttered her wings irritably but flew down to one of the boxes he hadn't gone to yet. She pushed the button and it ejected from the golden pillar. She took it and carried it up to him so he smiled brilliantly. "Thank you, Baby Tooth. You're the best."

He touched her affectionately and flew off. She was busy and he had left Clementia in Burgess. It wouldn't take him long to get back to her, but he didn't want to make her wait any longer than she already had. The search took a lot longer than he anticipated.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hades was a large man that rivaled North. He was darker toned and had dark red eyes that shone the evil he reigned over. He was a brute of a man and simply loved torture. He loved the fear he would inflict and reveled in their pain. He was worse than Pitch Black since he took enjoyment from everyone and not just children. Pitch was tame compared to this immortal god. Gaia would normally have cowered from him, but she had business to tend to. She didn't have time for fear.

Gaia pursed her lips and waited for him to take a seat within her home. He leered at her in what she suspected to be his 'charming' smile. She felt revolted. She knew what he had looked like before torture and pain captured his interests. He was a beautiful man who could rival Amor's beauty. Now, he was vile and usually smelled like rotting flesh.

"What can I do for you, Hades?" Gaia said in her most matter-of-fact tone.

"Just coming to see what I've been missing up here in the bright and mortal world." His voice was deep and tongue clicked against the roof of his hard palate occasionally.

"Ares doesn't need your help for this war, Hades. You know if he did he would come and see you himself." She crossed her arms, forcing herself to stare into his eyes. "However, I do have a job for you if you're interested?"

Hades' expression changed instantly from bored to shock. Mother Nature had never asked him to do anything for her. Thousands of years and she had avoided him as often as she could. "What could Mother of All ask of me?"

She pursed her lips, not liking his tone. "One of my children has misbehaved. Three hundred years of warning and warning and she refuses to listen. I would like you to take her to your Underworld. Scare her a little and then maybe she'll come to her senses."

"Torture one of your children?" He sounded excited suddenly. She never let her children go to his realm just for torture. It had always been banishment, but Clementia was one of her favorites. She wasn't sure if she was able to banish her completely.

"Just a little, Hades. Don't scar her. She is my goddess of mercy and compassion so she needs to still be hopeful." Gaia turned away from him, not enjoying his look of bloodlust. "Be careful, too. Don't let her touch you or else she might try and put mercy into your….well, a heart isn't something that you have…your mind, maybe?"

"Not to worry, Gaia. I'll take care of her." He bowed low, almost mockingly. She simply scoffed and dismissed him, biting her bottom lip regretfully.

* * *

_My mind is blank lol. I don't have anything interesting to say to you today. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though! _


	19. Chapter 19

_I was reading a story on here today and realized…..people need to stop thinking they're better than everyone else. In just the simple and brief author's note before the chapter started, this person managed to put down several wonderful stories and boast shamelessly about how their story was so much better and original. Sorry to tell you, but you just lost a reader and a faithful one at that. I don't pretend to be the most amazing writer in the world. I know everyone has different tastes in writing and stories, but I will never and I mean NEVER say that someone's story is unoriginal and horrible. This site is for people to improve their writing skills and explore their imagination. This is not a damn contest. There is no need to think you're better than someone else because they had the same idea as another author. This isn't high school. As J.K. Rowling said, "I just write what I want to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself."_

* * *

Jack flew back to Burgess at his fullest speed. He was excited and couldn't contain his laughter. He whooped through the air, occasionally flying through the clouds which spat out bits of frost and ice on the land they were hovering over. He couldn't believe he had gotten away with it. He had snuck into Tooth's palace and obtained Clementia's tooth box. He was on cloud nine. Within minutes, he was back in Burgess, cheering as he sped through the town. As he raced through the park, he waved to Jamie and his friends, casting a small snowfall on them just for a minute of enjoyment. He wasn't supposed to be in this part of the world right now. Eiar was surely hovering around somewhere, commanding the breeze and temperature. Jack didn't want this blonde woman to see him during her season. She was the nosiest of the deities and would surely follow him to the pond and see Clementia. Theros was more motherly, but wasn't overprotective like Eiar would be.

He spotted Clementia exactly where he had left her and a sense of relief swept over him. It felt as if he had been holding his breath. Did he really think she would leave him? He was elated that she hadn't moved and that she honestly was spending time with him because she wanted to. He didn't think Amor was the blackmailing type, but however the love god had convinced her to see him, Jack was now forever in his debt.

"That took longer than I thought," Jack said, landing gracefully and closed the distance on foot.

"It's okay. It only felt like a couple minutes." She smiled shyly to him and stood up. She wiped her pretty, but now muddy hands onto her dress. Jack clutched her tooth box tightly, staring at her with complete admiration. He usually looked at her, but suddenly, he could see why he had fallen in love with her in his mortal life. Although her hair had been brown back then, she still looked exactly the same. She had a small round nose that was framed by a petite face. Round cheeks that gave off a young and innocent look to her, but her lips were full and stern. He remembered thinking that someone with those kinds of lips should always be smiling or at least always be kissed.

Without a second's more of hesitation, he moved in closer to her. He didn't think twice when his arm wrapped around her waist and pushed her against his body. He sealed his lips over hers and kissed her like he had back then. It was the one thing he had wanted to do for the past three hundred years but didn't realize it until just then. There was no shame and he was relieved that she didn't resist at all. Although she tensed for a moment in surprise, she easily fell into the rhythm of his lips.

Once they broke away, both blushing scarlet, Jack laughed. His body was whirling with emotions, but confidence was the most prominent. He kept staring and smiling at her while she tried to hide her burning cheeks behind a curtain of hair. Jack could see the large smile across her lips and he felt triumphant. It was the same feeling he had when he had first originally made her smile. She had always been so stern and no nonsense that he took it as a personal challenge. It took a while to get the large smile that must have hurt her cheeks, but from that moment on he had vowed to always make her smile like that, at least once a day for the rest of their lives.

"Oh, wasn't that just the most precious of moments," A guttural voice said from behind Jack suddenly, startling them both. Jack instantly thought of Pitch, but the voice was too deep and lacked an accent. However, Jack still raised his staff defensively, keeping Clementia behind him. "I almost feel bad for interfering, but I have business to attend to."

"Who are you?" Jack snapped, gritting his perfectly white teeth.

"Oh, pardon me. I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld." Hades bowed lowly, his tall stature hunching in an arc. The smell of him nearly gaged Jack, but he resisted covering his nose.

"Hades," Clementia whispered softly, barely audible enough for Jack to hear. She was close to him, gripping the back of his sweater and green eyes wide as she stared at the large god.

"Dear Clementia, we have matters to discuss." Hades said, correcting his posture and extending a scabbing hand. Jack looked at it in disgust, moving his arm backwards to keep her where she was. Jack had only heard stories of this god before and none of them were pleasant. One story had almost made him vomit any frozen particles that were still inside his stomach.

"What do you want with her?" Jack kept his staff raised; challenging Hades even though he knew he was no match. If this turned violent, even his staff wouldn't be able to help him.

"Private business between gods, Frost. You can go ahead and scamper off with your Guardian friends." Hades hissed, narrowing his red eyes menacingly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Clementia suddenly piped up, her voice tiny from fear.

Hades straightened his back even further, reaching his full height now. Jack was still prepared to fight. The little fighting he had done with Pitch left him on edge, so he was ready for this deity to try any tricks. Hades smiled at Jack, but didn't move. He didn't avert his eyes or give any sign of retaliation. It wasn't until Jack felt cold, colder than he already was. He knew this feeling. He was losing hope and happiness. Slowly, his chest felt like it was caving in and made him lose his balance. Darkness clouded his sight and the cold froze his bones, making him feel immobile. He wasn't sure if he was actually falling or if it was just the loss of perception in the darkness. He tried to feel around, reaching for where Clementia should have been. The hand that was holding her tooth box was empty.

As quickly as it came, it was gone. His eyes were blinded by the sunlight and he was on the ground, coughing and catching his breath. He looked around in desperation, but Clementia and Hades were gone. He stood up, looking around even though he knew they were gone. He just needed some kind of clue as to where they would be. His breathing was still heavy and as he took flight, his frozen lungs still felt as if they had water in them.

He didn't know who to go to, but he knew it would have to be a deity. Only they would know where Hades would have taken her. As he flew into the clouds, he thought about going straight to Gaia's home and becoming violent with her. He knew he wouldn't actually do that, but fear was coursing through him.

"Frost!" A furious feminine voice screeched at him suddenly from the clouds.

He stopped, hoping it would be someone that could help him. Eiar was sitting on a cloud, pursing her lips at him and arms crossed over her chest. He didn't care if she was angry at him. She was one of the sisters that Clementia always spoke highly of. Surely she would be able to help.

"Eiar! I need your help." Jack said, interrupting anything kind of scolding she was about to give.

Her look of fury vanished at the sound of his fear and desperation, "What's happened?"

"Hades, he took Clementia!"

Eiar's eyes widened and she leapt from the cloud and joined Jack on the wind. "Let's go. Maybe we can get to her before he tries anything."

"Do you know where he lives?"

Eiar cocked an eyebrow at him, "Yes, he is family."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Clementia clutched the tiny gold box close to her chest. She was surrounded by skeletal figures that smelled strongly of rotting flesh and every once in a while a blood curdling sound would resound throughout the chamber she was in. She was the only thing that would move, but soft moans would escape the corpses. It was dark and damp and as she curled into herself, she felt all sense of despair. All of the murder and suicidal thoughts she had ever taken from the mortals were flooding through her mind now. She wasn't entirely sure if she was still alive. She knew she was immortal, but she also knew that immortals can kill immortals with their powers.

She didn't know what Hades was going to do to her. The moment he had taken her, he hadn't said a word. He threw her into this small and dark chamber and left. Nothing was said to her about why she was there or what he wanted from her. She wasn't stupid, though. She knew this had to be Mother Nature's doing.

For immortals, they had no real sense of time and she was sure that the depression that was emanating from this Underworld was making her lose even more track of time. Maybe it was slowing it down. She already didn't know how long she was curled there, trying to find some kind of hope.

The box she was holding suddenly lit up. It was shining in her hands, almost like it was calling her. She jumped, staring at it like she had never seen it before in her life. There was a sound coming from it, too faint to understand what was being said. Nervously, she looked around. She didn't want any of the corpses to wake from the sound or light of the box. They weren't moving. They hadn't moved at all even when she was thrown in there like a rag doll. She placed a finger on the multicolored diamonds, but had no idea what to expect. Lost in the sorrow and depression, she let the visions flood her mind's eye.

* * *

_That kissing scene was complete and total typing vomit. I had no intention of writing it, but out it came. I guess my fingers and overly worked mind decided it was time to make them lock lips LOL! _


	20. Chapter 20

The sun was shining brightly through the windows. She sat in her chair patiently, pushing the needle through the fabric slowly. She had to get this right. She had to impress her mother with her sewing skills. She sat in the chair with her ankles crossed and her elbows below the table. She was the perfect picture of a lady. The door swung open revealing a tall and beautiful woman who looked almost identical to herself.

"Hello Mother," she said, keeping her voice low and soft. She knew a proper woman never raised her voice.

"Still working on that design?" Her mother chided, walking out of the room and into her bedroom.

She frowned, dropping her hands and letting her posture slump in mild defeat. She just needed to pick up her pace.

xxx

She found herself sitting outside, scrubbing fabric in a small pail of water. She was distracted suddenly when a small group of children ran by her, screaming and laughing. She frowned, knowing why they were running so quickly. Sure enough, a tall boy with brown hair followed them, laughing just as loudly and twirling a stick in the air. She never liked that boy much. He always had fun and never seemed to take responsibility for anything. She knew he was a year older than her, but he acted just like the younger children.

"You can join them when you have finished." A voice came from behind her suddenly.

She deepened her frown, concentrating on the clothes again. "No thank you. I don't see the point in chasing others around. They should be in their homes and educating themselves."

She barely heard it; the faintest sigh escaped her mother's mouth before turning back into the house.

xxx

The darkness of the night found her sitting at the table, hunched over a book. She was reading furiously and kept biting her bottom lip as she took in the contents. All day she had been cleaning and sewing, like every day, but at night was her studying time. She wasn't going to be like the other women in her village that spent most of their days gossiping and not doing anything that would benefit them all.

"Regina," her mother's voice called for her from the window. She stood up in a second and walked over to it, "Could you come out her for a moment?"

Regina obliged, knowing it was best to do as her mother said. When she walked outside, though, she was surprised to see a large group of children sitting around a chair and all looking expectantly to her.

"I was just telling them that you tell the most wonderful stories. They are hoping you could share some with them."

She frowned but took a seat in the chair. She'd have to start with something simple first and she knew a simple fairy tale would do. She folded her hands in her lap and smile lightly at the children. She spoke, capturing all of their attention as she spoke of a beautiful princess and the prince that would eventually save her. To her dismay, the Overland boy accompanied his sister to the circle and listened to her. She continued through her annoyance and once she reached the prince fighting off the dragon, he left. Annoyed again for being interrupted, she scowled deeply and watched him retreat back into his house.

xxx

They had gotten into a fight. She didn't know why her mother was always hard on her. She thought she was doing everything her mother had asked of her. She did all of the chores she was responsible for and helped tend to the gardens. She studied hard every night and it never seemed enough for her mother. In a fit a rage, she left the house, wandering around the woods. She eventually found herself walking beside the pond that she knew all of the younger children played in during the summer time.

She heard soft thuds behind her, but she was still too consumed in her own thoughts to think about it. She heard whispers from the bushes, but assumed the children were coming this way soon to swim. It was a warmer day since summer was approaching soon.

A sudden grip on her arm startled her and before she knew it, she was in the pond and flailing. Once she calmed down slightly, she saw the children emerge from the bushes and laughing. The Overland boy was laughing and started climbing the tree she had just been under. She didn't care what he was doing, but she cared about getting out of the freezing water. She was surprised that such a frail looking boy could have thrown her so far into the water.

Within seconds, a large wave of water engulfed her again and she sputtered while she tried to reach for the shore. Jack was swimming behind her, laughing triumphantly.

xxx

She was leaning against a tree in a demure way. It was autumn and the branches were barely blocking the sun's rays from them. The lighting of it all made him look warmer and sweet. Most people didn't know he was a kind and caring person. They thought he was only capable of playing tricks and running through their gardens and fields. He had a reputation to hold, though, so she wasn't surprised that he had walked her into the woods. He was leaning over her, whispering something sweet into her ear and she couldn't help but smile widely.

Over the past few months, he had surprised her in so many ways, but he had also freed her from the pressures of growing up. Her mother didn't chastise her as often. She was surprised to find out that her mother only wanted her to go out and have fun while she was still able to. She had spent too much time inside the house trying to be the most outstanding woman in the village. Her mother was fed up with it and once Jackson showed up at their house, all of the pressures and criticisms vanished. Regina was spending most of her daylight outside with Jack and the other children. She was finally starting to enjoy herself.

He surprised her that he was actually a very loyal and compassionate person. It had been easy for her to fall in love with him and he couldn't help but fall in love with her since she was still able to keep him in line. So, when he suddenly moved away from her ear and towards her lips, she was elated. At first it was a simple and chaste kiss, but the longer they let their lips linger, the heavier the tension became.

xxx

She was holding onto Emma's shoulders, trying to understand what the weeping girl was telling her. She had said something about ice cracking and Jack saving her. She thought she heard her say Jack fell in. She looked out to the pond and saw the dark spot in the ice, realizing that he had indeed fallen in. She clutched the little girl tighter, crying at from the comprehension. Arms wrapped around both girls suddenly and she wept harder now that she was in his mother's embrace.

Her heart was breaking into a million pieces and all she could do was cry.

xxx

A tall man wearing a cowhide hat was standing in front of her with a gun. She wasn't afraid of him. She was angry and sad. She clenched her fists together, waiting for this man to leave her alone.

"Be the spinster of Burgess. Stay in love with some fallen jester." She heard him say suddenly and watched as he walked back into the darkness of the woods. She felt a triumphant smile spread over her lips slightly and she turned back to look at the pond she was standing in. Before she could react, however, her green eyes found themselves staring into ice blue eyes.

Then her chest ached and a sound had erupted from somewhere behind her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack was pacing back and forth while he waited on the sisters. Eair had called the other three to her for an emergency meeting. He was frustrated that they thought there was time for a meeting. He just wanted to get Clementia back as soon as possible because he had no idea what Hades would do to her. His staff was swinging around in his hand, freezing the vines that were growing and wrapping around the trunks of the trees. His free hand continued to run through his feathered hair.

Eventually, Theros and Eair emerged from their meeting room. Cheimon and the autumn sister, Phthinophorom, followed. He rocked back and forth on his bare heels, waiting for their verdict. They had called a meeting to see if there was anything they could do and if it was the wisest decisions to help Clementia out.

"Theros and I will help you find her; however, the others seem to think it unwise to help a Guardian. They don't want to risk enraging Mother any more than she already is." Eair said, pursing her lips, "There's a catch though, we can't enter his realm alone. We have to have someone that isn't pure of heart; someone that has done ill deeds and carries some darkness."

Jack frowned now, confused and growing even angrier that there were so many things they had to do before they could rescue her. Why couldn't it just be a simple 'in and out' rescue?

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Loki."

* * *

_I did some research in Loki and couldn't find much. I know he's a shapeshifter and a trickster, like Jack, so I embellished a little. I hope you don't mind if I freestyle with Loki a little LOL._


	21. Chapter 21

Jack could see Loki's top lip curl as he listened to Theros explain what had happened. Jack honestly didn't know much about Loki, but he reminded him of Pitch and it made Jack uneasy. He didn't want to trust someone who had darkness in their heart to help get his love back. The deity's posture was perfectly straight, almost intimidating. Jack stood far enough away to not know what was being said, but he could only guess. Loki hadn't said a word, but continued to nod his head occasionally and look disgusted. Eair stood next to Jack, keeping her arms crossed and studied her sister. It felt like their conversation was going on forever, but Jack knew he was just being impatient.

"We might need all the help we can get." Eair said suddenly, narrowing her eyes as Loki began to walk away from Theros.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well," She turned to look at Jack, "He's only one god. Hades has an army in his realm and he could easily take us four if he wanted."

"Who else would help us?"

Eair cocked an eyebrow at him, not believing he was clueless. "You just became the newest member of the Guardians, right?"

"The Guardians? I don't know if they would want to help." Jack said uncertainly. He knew he could ask them, but he was sure they wouldn't want to be involved with Gaia and her children.

Eair sighed heavily, obviously frustrated with him, "Just ask them! If you want Clem back we'll need a help. Loki won't be enough."

"Can't you get some more of your 'family'?"

"Why would they want to help? You're seriously lucky Theros is willing to help. No one wants to be involved with this mess. They think Mother's right to punish Clem like this. She knew better than to talk to you."

Jack scowled, flying off without another word. So that's how the sisters were seeing this whole situation. They couldn't see that the grudge between them all was pointless and infantile. Jack slightly hoped to run into Gaia so he could speak his mind. It was absurd that she would summon Hades to punish Clementia. He didn't know why she would go to such extreme measures for something as innocent as conversations. Granted, he knew they weren't just going to continue with conversation anymore. He was concerned that he had lost her tooth box, but hoped that she had been able to get it before Hades took her away.

Jack was at Tooth's palace within minutes, zooming past the mini fairies and to the larger pillar that Tooth usually flew around and gave directions. Baby Tooth was in front of him suddenly, chirping excitedly. Jack didn't have time to talk to her. He could see Tooth pointing to individual fairies so he grabbed Baby Tooth and placed her on his shoulder like she used to do. She nuzzled his neck affectionately, but he ignored it.

"Tooth!" He yelled, zigzagging through the thousands of fairies that were awaiting orders.

"Jack! What are you doing here?"

"I need your help. All of the Guardians, actually."

"With?" Tooth looked at him suspiciously.

"Gaia had Hades take Clementia to his underworld. We have to get her back."

Tooth respectfully gasped, violet eyes widening in horror, "Hades? She called Hades to help her? Why would she do that? Oh Jack, I don't know if we would be able to help at all. Hades is merciless."

Jack groaned, thinking quickly to try and convince her to help him and the two seasonal sisters. Jack still felt as if Loki would have more power than Eair gave credit. "I need your help, Tooth. I know it may seem like a long shot, but the more help I have the better chance I have to save her."

She looked at him dejectedly, wings missing beats occasionally as she thought his request through. He was starting to shake, wanting her answer as soon as possible but also wanting to leave so he could meet up with the sisters and Loki. He hoped they would want to take immediate action like he wanted.

"Okay, Jack. I'll get the others. We'll meet in Paris."

Jack sighed in relief, but was confused, "Why in Paris?"

"That's where the entrance is, right?"

Excited, he shrugged and flew off. Baby Tooth left him as soon as he exited the cave, but he knew she would more than likely follow Tooth to help out. The tiny fairy never liked to be excluded from their adventures since she had taken a liking to Jack. He knew the larger fairy would contact all of the others so he went back to find the sisters. If they had already gone to Paris then he didn't know if he would be able to find them. He didn't know why Hades' would make his entrance in the city of love. He could see Eros using that city for his own place, but not Hades. Death and despair wasn't something he thought of when he thought of Paris.

He got lucky when he returned back to the sisters. They were still talking to Loki but ceased when he dropped down next to them. Eair looked at him expectantly and he simply nodded. Loki smiled sinisterly and patted Theros on the back. He turned away and Jack saw the sisters look ready to leave.

Once they took to the sky, Loki beckoned jack to fly next to him. "We have to come up with a plan."

Jack had never heard to god's voice before and was surprised at how childish and jovial it sounded. He didn't know much about this god other than it was unwise to anger him, "What do you have in mind?"

Loki smiled again and Jack could see a glint of the darkness that the sisters had talked about, "We'll have to trick him if you want Clementia out alive or in one piece. I heard you like to play tricks on people."

"Only if they're fun and games; I don't really want to hurt anyone." Jack explained, hoping Loki didn't want to kill and wage a war on any other immortal. Jack wasn't even sure if immortals could die.

"We're not inflicting pain, Frost. We just have to distract him. I can take the shape of anything, so I was thinking…" he trailed off, looking down to the city below and noticed the Eiffel Tower. Jack was starting to feel nervous, wondering how they would ever be able to get away with tricking Hades. The Lord of the Dead really didn't seem like someone to that would fall for silly tricks easily. "I was thinking I could shift into Clementia after you get her out of wherever he's keeping her. I guess I could play dead or something."

An idea came to Jack suddenly, hoping to do something more convincing and not halfhearted, "Doesn't Hades have a wife?"

"Persephone, why?"

"Can't you just change into her? I think that'll lure him away from everyone long enough."

Loki smirked again, flying lower into the city, "You might be on to something. We'll have to try that, but it's not winter in his area; that's the only time Persephone visits him."

Jack shrugged, smiling, "She missed him."

Loki laughed loudly, landing outside of a small and dark green building. Surprisingly, the Guardians were outside waiting for them. They smiled sympathetically to Jack and eyed Loki suspiciously. The sisters landed behind the two tricksters silently, not giving the Guardians any kind of greeting. Jack knew the only reason they were joining them was to save Clementia. There was no way this moment would stop the grudge between the two families.

"It's always exciting when you're involved, Frost." Bunny said, smirking at the pale boy.

* * *

_I'm so excited to write the next couple of chapters. They should be decently long too and exciting! _


	22. Chapter 22

"Guardians, you'll need to stay out here. I can't cloak all of you when we walk in there." Loki started to explain, but was interrupted by Bunny suddenly.

"What do you mean 'cloak'?"

"As soon as I walk in there, Hades will know someone has come in. He won't know who, but it will alert him. I only have enough power to cloak Jack's presence so Hades doesn't realize two immortals have entered. This should be quick and easy if Jack and I have planned correctly," Loki continued, but Jack grimaced when he saw the looks on the Guardians' faces, "Theros and Eair will enter if we haven't returned shortly."

"And how exactly do you plan on getting Clementia away from Hades?" Bunny asked, unconvinced.

"Let us worry about that," Loki snapped, turning on his heel and silently beckoning Jack to follow. Jack swallowed nervously, looking over his shoulder to the Guardians. His family looked nervous for him and he wasn't sure if he could trust Loki. Why would Loki be so willing to help him when they weren't allowed to speak?

Loki opened the metal door and allowed Jack to move passed him. Dim lights lit the way down a long corridor and Jack couldn't help but feel the death hanging in the air. It made him cringe and back into the door.

"Welcome to the Catacombs of Paris, Frost." Loki smirked, making his way down the corridor. Jack followed uncertainly, trying to shrug off the death smell and feeling. He knew he would have to deal with unholy things when Eair had tried to describe Hades' lair to him. It made him uncomfortable and enraged him even more to think of Clementia in such a place by herself. He had to keep himself thinking of her so the stench of it wouldn't make him turn back. He had thought Pitch's hideout was bad enough.

After a while, Loki turned around and signaled him to be silent. Jack nodded, not sure why the extra warning was necessary. Jack had been nothing but silent. Loki walked over to a stone wall, placing his dark hand against one of the mortal-made signs. Loki took hold of Jack's arm suddenly, surprising him with his strength. Jack could feel some kind of tingling sensation spread over his frozen body, but that didn't surprise him as much as the wall moving to reveal a darker corridor seemingly out of nowhere. Obviously Loki had been there before because the god walked in with confidence, pulling Jack along with him. Once they were inside, Jack tried to pull away, but Loki only tightened his grip. Maybe this was the cloaking that Loki had spoken about.

They kept walking and after another long stretch, Loki finally released his arm. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Loki transform into a young woman, dressed in billowing gray clothes and a large and handsome headpiece. He assumed it was Persephone. "Stay low and listen to the conversation. If you think we've moved away, slip into one of the chambers. He's surely thrown her in one of those."

Jack nodded, crouching down against the wall. Loki walked out into the clearing of the lair in an elegant manner.

"Lord?" He heard Loki call out.

There was a bustling sound the moment his voice stopped echoing off of the walls. Jack couldn't see very well as the realm was lit only by blue glowing torches. He could see skeletal figures strewn about the ground and the smell of death and rotting flesh was stronger. Jack held his stomach, hoping not to retch.

"Persephone?" Hades' voice called out and Jack could hear the sweeping sound of his robes move across the floor and brushing some of the bones around. "Why have you returned?"

"Must I have a reason?"

Jack narrowed his eyes, trying to make out their figures. He could see Loki move further into the lair, luring Hades away from Jack. He waited, counting their steps and when their voices sounded as if they had walked into another chamber, he moved silently and scaled the wall. He found the first chamber quickly and snuck into it. He heaved dryly as the smell of the corpses hit him. He held his breath, scanning the dark room for any kind of light or movement. Soft moans greeted him, but nothing resembled Clementia. He had to move hastily, so he peered out into the main part and listened before running to the next chamber.

The smell was just as bad in this one, but slowly he was growing used to it. He made the search quick and quiet then moved onto the next one. There he was lucky. Clementia was curled up against the wall, clutching the golden tooth box that was glowing through the darkness. Flying over to her quickly, he grabbed her arm to try and move her. At his touch, she jumped, nearly screaming out. Jack covered her mouth quickly, making it sound just like a soft moan from one of the corpses.

When he removed his hand, tears were streaming down her face. Softly, he whispered as he wiped her tears away, "It's all right, Clem. I'll get you out of here."

"Jack…Jack, it was horrible." She wept hoarsely, still holding the box to her chest. "You died. I couldn't do anything. Your sister—"

"I know, I know. It's all right," Jack cooed, stroking her hair now. He tried to hide the smile that was tugging at his lips, but he was elated that she remembered him. She understood their connection now. "Everything's going to be fine. We have to get out of here, though."

She nodded, standing with Jack's support. She handed the box back to him and he stuffed it into the front pocket of his sweater. Hands clasped together, Jack led her to the entrance of the chamber. Redundantly, he signaled to her to be quiet. He could hear Loki and Hades' voices still in the back of the lair. Jack's bare feet padded across the ground and he was relieved that they were sprinting closer and closer to the exit. They were almost out. Jack smiled, pulling her along excitedly.

"LOKI!" Hades' voice boomed throughout the realm, shaking the bones and stones on the ground. A large black mass flew from the back and against the wall. Hades' large form trudged his way over to the fallen Loki and raised him up by his neck. Clementia and Jack were too stunned to move, only capable of lowering themselves from the god of death's view. Black and withered looking vines climbed down the walls suddenly, wrapping them around Loki's wrists and ankles. The shape shifter writhed against his bindings, changing forms as he fought. Jack had never seen someone take so many identities in just a few seconds time. He even saw himself hanging there for a moment, but then he was replaced by Hades himself. Shaking his head, Jack found his mobility again. He pushed Clementia to move, making her walk ahead of him. He held his staff defensively, looking over his shoulder like a nervous twitch.

He felt like they would make it. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips only to be sucked back in by the scabbed and rotting hand that snatched him by the hood of his sweater suddenly. Clementia screamed, but Jack was thrown back into the lair. His head hit the stone wall, eyes blurring from the impact. He heard Clementia scream again, but he didn't know what was happening. He fought against the double vision, only to see Hades carrying Clementia and then to see him throwing her back into the chamber she had just escaped from. Jack groaned, fighting against the pain blossoming in his head. He held his staff tightly and made himself stand up. He had to fight. He had to save her and get her out.

Something slimy and restricting wrapped itself around his ankles suddenly. Losing his grip on his only conduit, he was thrown upside down against the wall. The vines that had bound Loki made their way across Jack, keeping him down and mounted against the stone and jagged walls. Loki was next to him, still shifting forms in rage. Jack shook his head, trying to fight through the pain. He had to keep fighting. The more he fought the tighter the bonds got. Gritting his teeth, he felt his power exude from him and freeze over the vines. Just when he thought he could tug and break free, all of the ice that he had created shattered, but left the vines intact.

"No use fighting, Jack," Hades laughed deeply, moving closer to the two tricksters on his wall, "This isn't some child's game. I have no restrictions on torture."


	23. Chapter 23

Theros was tapping her foot impatiently. She was not one to wait for long and her patience was wearing thin already. Although it had been her idea to coerce Loki into helping them, she didn't trust him. He had manipulated so many of her family members in the past. He always claimed it was all fun and games, but the death of Balder was a low blow. Since Balder's death, Loki had been tainted with darkness and he wouldn't be able to come back from it. He had spent the better part of a century with Hades as well, which was the main reason she had chosen Loki. The trickster belonged to Odin, but they were still considered family. There were a few immortals that belonged to Gaia and Odin, but they usually let them wander on their own and didn't request them to return to either of their homes. Unlike Theros and her sisters, or even Clementia, they had no real home. Theros and her sisters had figured out that if the immortals had been born, then they were free to do as they wished. However, like Clementia and the sisters, they were made which meant they were bound to Gaia.

"What is taking them so long?" Theros shouted suddenly, crossing her arms over her chest and picking up the speed of her tapping foot.

"They've only been gone a few minutes." Eair tried to reason, shooting her sister a sympathetic look.

"Five more minutes then we go in. I knew we shouldn't have asked Loki to help us."

"It was your idea!" Eair was stunned.

"I know, but I could have gotten us in there too."

"What do you mean? You have to be a dark person to enter a dark place."

"I am," Theros said nonchalantly, "You don't know everything I do, sister."

Eair gawked at her silently, but Theros went back to staring at the door Jack and Loki had gone through. She paid the Guardians no mind and ignored the hushed conversation they were having. She heard North say something about Pitch Black. She didn't care, though. She couldn't believe she was being forced to be associated with the infamous Guardians. She rolled her eyes thinking about it. The things she did for Clementia. She had kept quiet about the first few times Clementia would speak to Jack. As far as Mother knew, Clementia had only spoken to Jack six times. That wasn't true though, she had talked to him nearly ten times. Theros couldn't bring herself to tear the two of them away so shortly after Clementia had become a deity. She thought for sure the young girl had remembered Jack, but after some of their conversations, it was obvious she had no idea who he was. After Clementia came back from Australia crying about something Frost had said to her, Theros decided to stop it. She couldn't let their youngest sister get hurt by a hellion like Jack Frost.

"You _must_ elaborate, sister." Eair inched closer, whispering in her ear.

"It was a long time ago, Eair."

"Did you commit _murder_?"

Theros was silent, trying to ignore her sister's hovering and cooling presence. To Theros, the spring deity was chilling, but was the only one that she could get near. Cheimon and Phthinophorom were unbearable to be around.

"You did! How could you? Does Mother know? Theros, how could you have gone so low?"

"Eair, be silent!" Theros snapped suddenly, glancing at the Guardians and their horrified expressions. This was neither the time nor the place to reveal her lowest moment in the past centuries. She would have to distract her sister from the recent topic, so uncrossing her arms; she nodded and pulled the door open. "Let's go."

Eair smiles lightly to the Guardians and follows her sister into the Catacombs. Theros wasn't nervous like she could tell Eair was, but she had been there once before. Unbeknownst to Hades, she had ventured into the realm with Loki. She knew how to get in and what to expect, but she couldn't very well comfort her sister with the same confidence. Eair asked too many questions and Theros was not willing to answer them.

Walking down the stone corridor lit by mortal lights was easy. The distance wasn't that far, but she could see Eair lagging behind in apprehension. Theros rolled her eyes, turning to face the sign when they finally reached the entrance. She placed a hand on the sign and waited. She hoped Hades wouldn't detect their entrance because he was busy with Jack and Loki. She wasn't sure what she could do to help them if they had been caught, but she wanted to get Clementia out. As the wall moved and revealed the passage into Hades' lair, she heard Eair gasp and the stench made them both retch. That was one thing she had forgotten about.

This corridor was much dimmer and moist. Theros forced her head high and walked quietly, listening intently for sounds of Hades or one of the other immortals. Eair squeaked in fear randomly and as they put more distance behind them, the rancid stench of flesh and blood was making it harder for either of them hold their stomachs much longer. Theros was concerned about Eair, since she was the most innocent of the four. She was spring which meant innocence and hope and new life. She felt horrible for having to put her delicate sister into such a situation, but she did not want to be accompanied by a Guardian. She kept her face stoic when her other sisters dejected the idea of helping Clementia and Jack Frost, but it hurt her. Clementia was the one deity that they all had vowed to watch over and help always. There was something about her that they liked and wanted to keep by them.

The darker the corridor became, the more soft and painful moans could be heard. Theros motioned for Eair to crouch down so they could sneak in with less of a chance to be detected. Slowly and as quietly as they could, they walked into the lair. Eair covered her mouth when she saw the bones on the ground, but surprised Theros for keeping it together better.

"Wait until I get my hands on you!" A dangerous voice shouted which was answered by a menacing laugh. Theros crept closer to a stone pillar that was randomly placed throughout the lair to hide and track down the voices. Standing with his back facing her was Hades and he was staring at the stone wall. She narrowed her eyes to adjust them to the darkness when she saw them. Both Loki and Jack were bounded to the wall by black vines. Jack was upside down and Loki was changing his forms into the more violent of creatures. She looked around, hoping to see Clementia tied next to one of them. Once Hades stopped laughing, louder moans were coming from the chamber closest to them. An idea came to her; it was risky, but she thought it could work. She nodded her head to her sister, hoping she would understand. Eair shook her head, scowling fiercely. Theros chanced a glance back to Hades and panicked when she saw him gone.

She widened her eyes in panic and motioned her sister to move; they had to get out before he found them. They would be no good to Clementia or Loki if they both were caught. The Guardians were too pure and innocent to gain entrance to the realm, so they couldn't count on any of them for help. The other sisters knew where they were going, but by the time they realized they were missing it might be too late. Theros knew Mother wouldn't allow Hades to torture Clementia until she lost her mind, like he loved to do to deities, but those were his only rules. Anyone willingly intruding into his lair was fair game and she knew he would do whatever he wished to punish them. One does not simply walk into the Underworld without suffering the repercussions of it.

They stood and ran. That was all they could think of to do. Theros was faster, running down the corridor and back towards the exit without looking over her shoulder. She hoped Eair was following. The wall moved again, allowing her to escape. Only then did she look back and see that she was alone.

"Eair!" She yelled, breathless and panicked, "Eair!"

She listened but no sounds of footsteps responded to her. She couldn't be weak for a moment. She had to gather more people. She had to get help from everyone she could and, at that moment, she didn't care if it was Guardian or deity.

Sprinted out of the Catacombs and nearly collided into North's rotund belly.

"He has them!" She said breathlessly. "He has them all."

"What?!" They said in unison.

"That's it," Bunny said, straightening his lax posture, "I have to talk to her."

Before anyone could object or ask for more clarity, he had vanished into one of his earthy portals.

"We need more help." Theros said, catching her breath slowly.

"Who should we get?" Tooth asked, hovering above North with a look of horror on her face. Theros was glad that they all seemed to understand the kind of dangers their family members were probably facing.

Theros let her face deadpan and said determinedly, "Everyone."


	24. Chapter 24

_100 reviews! I'm so happy!  
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He was really getting annoyed by all the visits. He just wanted to be left alone so he could do his job. That was it. He just wanted some solitude. After the past few days with the constant flow of visitors, he was beyond frustrated. He didn't blame Clementia for his annoyance; she was one of the only ones that would never annoy him. What annoyed him the most was her counterpart; she just _had_ to be true loves with Jack Frost. Everyone else, including Frost, should just leave him alone. That was all he wanted. Solitude didn't seem like too much to ask. He had been alone ever since he had appeared in Rome the day he was 'born'. It wasn't until he found out how to use his powers that the deities and spirits noticed him.

He got them back, though. He sent out a warning to leave him alone and if they didn't listen, he shot them with his arrows. Within minutes of his magic, they had fallen in love with someone and then, within days, they were heartbroken. His magic only worked for a short amount of time. It was just enough to initiate things, but it wore off after several days. If it had real potential, his magic wouldn't be needed. But like all love, even infatuation, it hurts when the magic stops. He had only had a handful of people die from it, but he was sure they weren't right in the head to begin with.

So, when several sounds of footsteps landed behind him while he was in California, he had to let out a very audible heavy sigh. The past few days had been very busy for him. He won't be getting solitude any time soon, it seemed like. He turned around, only somewhat surprised to see Theros and the Tooth Fairy, both looking pale and nervous.

"What?" He wasn't fond of Theros and he made sure she was aware of it.

"We need your help."

Amor scoffed lightly, "I'm not helping you."

"Amor, we need everyone we can. They're in grave danger."

"Theros, I don't care. I leave everyone alone and I expect everyone to do the same for me," He turned back around, raising his bow at the sunbathing couple on the beach, "Besides, why would I help you? You killed Balder."

The Tooth Fairy gasped next to Theros, but the summer deity remained stoic, only slightly pursing her lips. "You won't help Clementia?"

"Of course I would help her. I'm not helping you, though."

"She's in trouble, Amor. Hades has her and Loki, even Jack Frost. Now he has Eair. We need your help. I'm not asking because I want to, but because I have to. We already have Cheimon and Hermes. North, Sandman and Hermes are asking Poseidon."

"Hades? He has Clementia?" He lowered his bow, thinking quickly.

"You'll help us save her? You love her, right?" Amor shot Theros a nasty look, "Help us save her."

The love god lowered his arms, hunching his shoulders. He knew she had made a point. Clementia was his best friend and he knew he would help anyone to save her. He just didn't trust Theros since she had teamed up with Loki before. Amor had no real issue with Loki, usually finding his stories amusing, but he didn't trust him. Loki had felt no remorse for having killed Balder. Amor knew Theros wasn't the one that had actually killed Balder, but she was the one that gave Loki the mistletoe. It was just as bad as killing him. It had tainted her heart, which was probably the reason she was angry and slightly violent.

"Fine, who else are we getting?"

"We've asked everyone else. No one wants a part in this; even Ares doesn't want to help. Athena didn't want to either."

"So, we're taking on Hades, the god of the Underworld with the Guardians, Cheimon, Hermes, Poseidon, myself and you? We're quite a team." He chuckled, imagining the band of mismatched and misfit spirits that would try to take on Hades.

"Hera didn't really say anything. I'm hoping she will help us." Tooth said quietly from beside Theros.

Amor nodded, "She'll help. She always does. Ares and Athena aren't going to fight against Hades. They have to send the battle slain souls to someone."

"Enough chatting! Let's go." Theros barked, taking flight. Amor rolled his eyes, flying next to Tooth.

Amor never had much of a problem with the Guardians. They protected the children of the world, which he thought was noble. Most immortals forget about the children, but they don't realize that they are the future. However, he didn't think Gaia's children would care if all of the mortals had disappeared. Gaia certainly wouldn't mind since she was now battle against pollution and the slow destruction of her earth.

They regrouped in Paris, in front of the Catacombs and it truly was a strange sight. Hermes was a stout man with a large bush of curly hair and small wings protruding from his back. He was the only deity that had wings to fly. Poseidon was a monstrous of a god, twice the size of North and Hades. He was muscular and intimidating and usually dripping wet from the storms, crouching down so he could be level with them all. He had to be a large man to create the kind of storms that he did. He left snowstorms to Jack, who he had taken a liking to, but hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes were his. Tornadoes were results of the wind brothers having fun. Hera joined them, like Amor said she would. She was beautiful, like most of the deities. She was jealous of most, but she still had a sense of loyalty. Her temper was short, which would benefit them with this battle. Lastly was Cheimon, looking cold and shivering from the subzero temperatures. She wasn't as cold as Jack, but she was close. She was the quietest of the four sisters, since she represented winter. She never raised her voice and often carried a frozen twig or something that had suffered from the weather. She only dealt with the temperatures now that Jack was around. She could speak to him occasionally to help him know where to spread the winter joy.

No one said anything, but stared and measured each other up. Amor could have laughed at the tension and the strange combination of deities and spirits. North, Tooth, and Sandy stood off to the side, waiting for someone to lead the way. They only wanted their Guardian of Fun and nothing else. Amor couldn't figure out why Hermes or Hera would help them. Poseidon liked Jack and would be there to help him. Hermes and Hera had no connection to anyone being held captive.

"This is it." Theros said, turning and opening the door. Amor waited behind, wanting to see how Poseidon would make it into the small entrance. Surprisingly, it wasn't as awkward as he had hoped; only the god had to crawl. North was almost doubled over and Tooth had to reluctantly walk since her wings would be too noisy. They knew there was no point in trying to hide their arrival, but the less noise they made the better they felt. Amor just wanted to wait until they were actually in the realm before someone made the battle cry.

Theros touched the signed and allowed Poseidon to enter first. This corridor was larger, albeit darker. North was second and the rest followed without the claustrophobic feeling. Screams were meeting them through the walls. Clearly, they could hear Loki screaming and cursing and another set of screams mixed with his curses. Tooth and North stumbled, hoping it wasn't Jack. Amor knew better, though. Hades was merciless and he would make them suffer for as long as they could. Once he lost interest in them, he would throw them in a chamber and let their tormented minds do the rest of the work for him. The mortals had a better deal. Once they died, they went straight to a chamber and were left alone for eternity.

The group stopped in the threshold of his lair, watching as Hades pulled and stretched Jack's limbs. They only waited a second before North drew out his swords and screaming, charging at Hades. Only slightly surprised, Hades turned away from the pale boy and blocked North's attack. Tooth gathered her wits and joined him, spinning like a tornado to him and trying to use her wings to damage him. Sandy created whips from his sand, latching around Hades' ankles. Poseidon roared like the giant he was and charged in, large fists raised and bringing them down onto Hades. Amor watched and waited. He knew the battle wouldn't be this easy. Seconds later, everyone was forced back by Hades' powerful wave. The god of death laughed victoriously, ignoring Jack for the moment. He took in the sight of all of the immortals that willingly came into his home, ready to fight him.

Amorlooked over to Theros, thinking quickly and she had the same thoughts as him. They snuck past the group facing Hades, scaling the wall to get closer to the captured. Eair was hanging by her wrists, crying silently. Loki was limp but conscious and glaring at Hades. His slicked back hair was disheveled and plastering to his sweating face. Theros rushed over to her sister, pinching and pulling at the vines. Amor went to Loki, pulling an arrow from his sheath and cutting away. Loki's top lip was curling in rage and Amorknew that once he freed the trickster, he would have to run.

He saw Eair drop into her sister's arms and he relaxed slightly. Loki's wrists were freed and suddenly Amor was thrown aside. Loki had shifted into a large lion, clawing the vines away from his feet. He pounced, joining the others in their attempts to fight Hades. Amor looked around, searching for Clementia.

"That chamber," Eair said, pointing to the one beside them.

He ran, reaching for the door. He had to save her. However, his arms and legs were suddenly being bitten on and pulled down. The smell of death was overwhelming and his golden eyes were met with black and soulless. Hades had summoned his dead. His corpses were standing, wrapping their decaying bodies around the fighting immortals.

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_I hate to say it, but there are only a few chapters left. I might update again tonight! _


	25. Chapter 25

_I realized that I made a HUGE error in the last chapter! Forgive me if I confused you! I accidently wrote Eros instead of Amor! All of these names can be confusing sometimes and I guess I wasn't in my right mind lol. I went ahead and changed it, but if I missed one let me know! So sorry for the confusion!_

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Jack watched helplessly as the soulless bodies surrounded everyone that had shown up to help them. The pain that seared through his body was blinding him, but he could tell that they were in trouble. He tried to call out, wanting to give them some kind of encouragement, but he could only hang limply from the vines. Hades had said some horrible things to him, making him relive all of the pain he had experienced in his life, but the worst was reliving his murderous thoughts. He had to kill the mortal that murdered Clementia over and over again. Not only was he watching these memories, but Hades was pulling and stretching his thin limbs. He wasn't sure what was worse.

Battle cries erupted throughout the lair and he could hear the sounds of magic and flesh ripping. Poseidon roared like the giant he was and slammed his fist to the ground, making the walls shake violently. Loki roared, still in his lion form, and tore corpses apart without mercy. They were dead, so there was no punishment for killing. Tooth was flying around the room, spinning like a mini tornado and damaging a few of the surrounding bodies. Jack could see Sandy's golden whips sway around the room, just like he had done when he fought of Pitch's nightmares. Jack forced his eyes to focus and he saw Hera unsheathe her long and majestic sword, spinning around and beheading more bodies. Jack was glad to see that they looked like they stood a chance against them, but then he heard a chamber door open. The first chamber opened, which was the one Clementia wasn't in, and unveiled more corpses. He wouldn't call them zombies, but they were similar.

He heard Hermes fly past him, using his staff to defend himself. The sisters were using what they could to fight, but they seemed weaker and outnumbered. Jack screamed, trying to use his powers without the conduit, but it was weak. The vines binding him froze again, but he knew they wouldn't break. North flew through the air, swinging his swords happily and taking down several of the bodies easily. But the second chamber opened and more were filing out. Jack tried to swing, making the vines move so he could at least help them. If he extended his arms far enough, he would be able to reach at least one of the bodies. He should have enough power to freeze them.

"Jack!" North yelled, trying to jump into the air again and aiming for his binds. However, he was intercepted. Jack never knew the corpses could move quickly. He saw them sink their decayed teeth into North's tattooed arms and the large man fell. Poseidon looked to be having the best of luck, able to move quickly in the large room and swinging his arms wildly around, knocking several over in one movement. Loki was having a blast, beginning to toy with the ripped off limbs and taking his time to destroy another. Jack looked around, realizing someone was missing. He could barely see Amor, in flight, shooting his love arrows at the advancing bodies. This obviously didn't have the same effect on them since they were organ-less and under complete control of Hades. The realization of Hades being absent dawned on Jack. He swung his body, spinning the vines around so he could get a clear view of the entire lair. Hades was in the shadows, watching the immortals fight. He looked just like Pitch had when everyone was fighting his nightmares. He looked victorious and sneering at them all. Jack screamed again, swinging his arms and try and catch onto something. He grabbed a body by their thinning and greasy hair, using all of his power and froze them into a solid ice block. Hades laughed loudly, echoing off the walls. He opened another chamber, but not the one with Clementia. Jack hadn't realized the entire lair was full of hidden doors and chambers. More and more bodies came out, completely overpowering them all.

He felt his binds loosen suddenly and saw Tooth fly by carrying a body with her. The arms and legs fell away as she zoomed around. She had cut through the vines on accident, but he didn't care. He was freed. He blocked his face as the vines finally gave out completely and scrambled quickly once he hit the ground. He ran the short distance back to his staff and used as much of his power as he could. Several of the bodies slid and fell from the sudden eruption of ice. This made it easier for all of the immortals to attack. North and Loki cried out again, taking more and more down. Poseidon stood up completely, now stomping on the corpses and pulling the jagged rocks from the ceiling to make them fall and collapse onto them. Jack blasted again and again, realizing he was moving closer and closer to Clementia's chamber. He had to get her out.

However, as soon as he was close enough to touch the door, he was blasted away by Hades' power, as were everyone else. Another wave of his power kept everyone down. Jack could see him move across the ground, circling everyone. His corpses were immobile as he walked by, brushing past everyone. Jack groaned, trying to move past the pain that seared through his abdomen. It felt like Pitch had snapped his staff in half again. He looked up; ready to strike at the god of death, but scabbed and rotting hands grasped his throat, lifting him up. Jack swung his staff, summoning as much power as he could, but Hades seemed unfazed by it all. He let out a groan as Hades tightened his grip, obviously moving through the lair. Jack's bare feet were dangling and his eyes were closing. The only way for an immortal to die was by the hands of another immortal. Everyone had weaknesses and Hades knew them all.

There was a sound escaping him, coming from somewhere in his collapsing throat. Hades was smiling maliciously, tightening slowly. Just as Jack was about to black out, battle cried resumed. He could feel several attempts to attack Hades, but they were not doing anything to unstable him. His red eyes were still fixed intently on Jack and the pale boy could feel the power radiating off of him. Things were about to get dangerous and Jack was helpless. He was only able to help his friends for seconds and he wasn't able to do much. He failed them. He felt worthless and miserable.

The bright and shocking blue in his eyes were darkening as the despair settled into his mind. Hades was using his power to get into his mind. He was making Jack suffer again. This time, Jack watched Regina die. She would collapse in his arms and her green eyes would lose their light slowly. He felt the sadness and anger course through him. He watched the scene again and again. It was torture. He writhed in Hades' hands, trying to get away from him and the memories.

Moans echoed through the lair, pulling Jack from his memories. He fought against the visions and tried to open his eyes to see what was happening to his friends. They were still fighting, trying to clear off the corpses and also to free Jack. From the corner of his eye, he saw Amor. He shot his arrows aimlessly, hoping to hit one of the bodies, but he was running to the third chamber; the chamber that held Clementia. More bodies flooded out, attacking and carrying Amor away, but Clementia was freed. Jack fought some more, wanting to get to her and escape with her. She was freed, but now everyone else was being taken down. Hades' power was radiating through the lair, pounding into the immortals. Jack could sense the despair growing thicker in the air around them. He saw Tooth shake as she tried to fight, obviously reliving something from her past. Hera was red in rage, swinging blindly at anyone and everyone. Hermes had stopped flying, swinging his staff half-heartedly and holding his head to try and block the thoughts. Poseidon was enraged, becoming even more violent as the thoughts invaded his mind. The sisters cowered in the back of the lair, holding onto each other. Sandy was looking distant, staring at North in worry and the large and jolly man was losing the rosiness in his cheeks. He leaned on his swords, hanging his head as his own despair crept in. It was a horrendous sight. Everyone had demons and the only one unaffected by the evil was Loki, who was still tearing at the advancing corpses.

Clementia rushed over to Jack and Hades, looking afraid and nearly traumatized. Without a moment's hesitation, she latched onto Hades. She placed both of her hands on the arm holding Jack.

Jack could see the pain spread across her face as she sucked and pulled all of the evil out of him and tried to replace it with mercy and compassion. She fought against the pain and the evil. Steam was slowly rising up from their adjoining parts. She cowered, losing her balance but not once let go. Jack could feel the god of death's grip loosen. He fell to the ground, dropping like dead weight, but he could only watch as she started to shriek in pain. Hades' large body was sinking lower the longer she held on. Suddenly, all of the corpses stopped moving, turning their unseeing eyes to their master. After another moment, they dropped, falling lifelessly to the stone floor. Clementia was still screaming, trying her best not to writhe in pain. The steam was growing thicker and Jack shuffled closer to her, ready to grab her the moment she let go. He could see blisters forming on her arms, red and pulsing.

Hades finally dropped completely, falling like one of his corpses. That instant, she released him. She stumbled, crying and screaming. Jack caught her, rubbing his freezing hands over the large blisters. She curled against him and cried into his sweater. He couldn't even imagine the evil Hades had in him and how much pain it had caused her. But, nothing else mattered. They had won. She had defeated Hades. They were all free to go. The despair in the lair was gone and everyone was slowly recovering.

They were all silent, watching as the two lovers held on to each other tightly.

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_What did you all think of the battle?_


	26. Chapter 26

_Okay, this chapter should answer some questions you all might have. If you still have questions after this, let me know! I can answer them in the epilogue._

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Everything was quiet now other than the heavy breathing coming from the tired and worn out immortals. Clementia was still clutching to Jack's sweater, but her crying had stopped. The pain in her arms was ebbing as Jack continued to run his ice cold hands over them. She had never experienced so much evil in someone before. Her mind was flooded with all of his demented and cruel acts throughout his life. His heart was pure black, which inflicted even more pain onto her. She thought she had touched evil once before, but nothing was a torturous as Hades.

She noticed her sisters were moving away from the back wall and towards her and Jack. Even Hera knelt down to check on her.

"These shouldn't scar too much," She said, touching her arm gently.

She wasn't sure why Hera was there since the last time they had spoken they had argued. She wasn't, however, surprised to see Hermes there. He was the messenger and the biggest gossip of all of the deities. He knew everyone's business which is why Gaia had made the rule to never keep secrets because it would be too impossible to keep them anyway.

Shooting pains made her wince and Jack would immediately calm her, whispering in her ear and frosting the wounds.

"We should go." North said to them suddenly, placing a large hand on the winter spirit's shoulder. Jack wrapped his arms around her, carrying her through the lair and following the others down the corridors. Once they made it outside of the Catacombs, they had to discuss where to go. North wanted to go back to his workshop, but the sisters argued, saying she needed to go back home. Tooth and Sandy agreed that she should be taken to the Pole where she could rest without the fear of seeing Mother Nature. Although everyone agreed with them, they thought she should just get it over with. They wanted her to deal with the wrath of Gaia and move on. Clementia wanted no part of seeing her mother now. She was too weak and didn't have any strength to argue with her. She also knew that Jack wouldn't leave her side any time soon. With the recovery of her memories, she knew he was much too loyal and dedicated to leave her when she was weak. It would only be when she had to force him to leave that he would go.

The arguing continued until Poseidon spoke, thundering loudly over everyone, "Take her to the Pole. If Gaia wishes to see her then she can go there. We will not keep her whereabouts a secret."

Jack and Clementia climbed into North's sleigh with Tooth and Sandy while the others made their own way there. Even though they had just fought alongside the Guardians, they didn't want to be seen with them too much, especially in the air where all the other deities could see. Amor clambered into the sleigh shortly after they left. His usual charm was gone and his thick brows were stitched together. He knelt down next to Jack and Clementia, grasping her burnt hand gently. Just a while ago, Jack and Amor together with her meant bad news. Now, they were just there for her and not ruining anything. They didn't need to say anything.

The flight back to the pole was short considering the large man had thrown his snow globe into the sky. The sleigh was steered back in through the icy cavern and landing in front of several large yetis. The large beasts pulled the reigns away from North and Jack continued to carry her into the workshop and home only to be greeted by several more yetis. The others flew in through the windows and various, random doors; only Poseidon struggling to get in. Jack greeted one of the many yetis named Phil, who then brought in a lounge for her. He set her down and paced the concrete floor with the others. The sisters sat around her, Cheimon resting a cold hand on hers, like Jack had done. The burning had stopped almost completely, but the blisters were still there. She almost resembled Hades with his unsightly scabbed hands.

The sisters began chatting with her, telling her all about the fight they had just gone through. She knew, though. She had heard everything that was happening. Once the bodies rose up and walked towards the door, she knew things had gotten worse outside. She had only heard Loki and Jack's cries with the mixture of Hades' laugh until things got quiet. Then there was loud battle cry and all hell had broken loose.

"_What_ is going on here?" barked a silky and dominant voice.

"Mother!" The sisters cried, turning from the lounge and standing up.

Clementia turned slightly, wincing at the pain when her arm rubbed against the fabric. Gaia was standing on the landing with her arms crossed and an infuriated look on her face. She was looking at everyone in the room, occasionally raising an eyebrow at some of the company. It was a strange group to have together in one room. Bunny was next to her, looking at them all in a curious manner.

"Gaia, she was badly injured. We had to take her somewhere." North said, taking a few steps closer to the woman.

She shook her head, looking down to Clementia now. "Why is she even out? I sent her there for a _reason_."

"To punish me! You sent me down there to be tortured by the foulest god around only because I was talking to Jack." Clementia yelled, again wincing.

Gaia saw her flinch and moved closer, pushing the sisters out of her way. Jack jumped closer to Clementia, hovering over her protectively. She could see her mother's eyes widen at the sight of the blisters. "How did you get those?"

"I had to help. Hades was torturing them."

"Darling, that wasn't your fight. In fact, they shouldn't have been involved at all."

"We couldn't just let her stay there and be tortured by him!" Jack shouted, gripping his staff angrily.

"She wasn't going to be tortured! He was only supposed to scare her so she would stop talking to _you!_"

"Why?" Jack barked, finally seeing a chance to end it all, "Why do you want to keep her from me so much? I haven't done anything to her other than be there for her."

"I—I want to protect her."

"From?"

"You Guardians! You do nothing but cause heart break and I want to spare her from that."

Bunny stepped up suddenly, trying to pull Gaia away.

"You don't know about our past, Mother Nature. You don't know what we are together." Jack rebutted, leaning closer to Clementia.

"It was in the past! There's nothing there for you two to go on anymore."

"Excuse me," Amor spoke up suddenly, bowing quickly to the woman then continued, "I'm Amor, the god of love and I can personally say that there can be wonderful things to come from them."

"Like what?"

"Well, on the rare chances of someone actually meeting their true loves or also what some call soul mates, they have the strength to inspire and create something most people can't. The average person can't create the same magic that soul mates can. Humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them in half, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other half. Do you remember when he did that?"

"I do."

"Then you know that, when Jack and Clementia were human, they met and fell in love. Even death couldn't keep them apart. They both became immortals and they haven't been able to separate since. Just imagine the power they could have if you allowed them to be together, along with others." Amor smiled charmingly, "I know you're denying yourself love as well."

Gaia narrowed her eyes at the love god, but everyone saw her eyes flicker to Bunny for a second. She sighed heavily a moment later, "You're just like your father, Amor."

Everyone gasped. They knew he didn't have any family. He didn't belong to anyone. He just appeared one day in Rome without anyone to go to. He belonged to no one. That was always the part of the mystery the goddesses liked about him and they also liked that he wasn't forbidden to talk to.

"What?" Amor asked, taking a single step closer to her.

"Fine! Clementia, I can't stop you from being in love with Frost. I don't like it, but I know how hard it is. I've been in love with someone for so long and even though he broke my heart by choosing mortals over me, I couldn't stop loving him." She turned to Bunny, taking hold of his paw.

"You've got to answer Amor, Gaia." Clementia heard Bunny whisper to her. "He's wanted answers for a long time."

She nodded, extending a hand to Amor. He followed her out of earshot from everyone else. The rest of the room remained quiet, trying as hard as they could to listen to them. Jack, however, was more concerned about Clementia and started examining her arms. She noticed the smirk on his lips the entire time and she couldn't help but smile as well. They had gotten what they wanted. They were finally able to be together. She giggled quietly and pulled Jack closer to her once he was done distracting himself with her arms. She pulled him in, closing her lips over his, not caring about the others in the room. For once in her mortal and immortal life, she didn't care what the others thought.

A while later, Amor came back, smiling his bright smile. The others had filtered out, growing impatient from waiting and too tired to stand around any longer. Even though they were immortal and didn't necessarily need to sleep, they fighting that all had endured tired them out. Granted, they would only need a few minutes to sleep to recuperate. Clementia and Jack stayed where they were, watching the blisters slowly heal and disappear while they whispered to each other.

Amor pulled a large chair up next to them, "You won't believe this."

Jack moved closer, intrigued to hear the back story.

"I belong to Gaia and Tsar. I guess they were together before Bunny was around so I became their child."

"Who's Tsar?" Clementia asked and Jack only cocked an eyebrow.

"The Man in the Moon."

"What? How did we not know about this? Does that mean you're a Guardian?" Jack asked, blown away by the news.

"No, I was born. Gaia and the others never really pay attention to the deities that are born. Once you combine two deities together, there is no _real_ home for them. They can do whatever they want. The ones that are made are the ones that have to been looked after, like you two."

"How are you the child of Gaia and Manny? I mean, he's the _Moon._"

"He wasn't always the Moon, Jack. He used to be a man just like us, but he feared Gaia's wrath so he wanted to leave. However, Pitch Black sent him to the moon when he was trying to take over. That wasn't the place he wanted to go, but he was still able to watch over everyone."

"So, Mother's true love is Tsar?" Clementia asked, slightly confused.

"No, Bunny is. She's had several children, Clem, but she truly loves Bunny. The only reason she forbid her family from talking to Tsar's is because of Bunny. There was a huge battle between mortals and gods. They were fighting about love and who they could or couldn't be in love with. Gaia didn't want her children to be hurt by the death of the mortals and she certainly couldn't make them all part of her family. There isn't anything else that needs to be taken care of. She banished the chances of falling in love with mortals, but that angered them. They started a war with the help of Ares. The Guardians stepped in, protecting the mortals. That decision broke her heart since she thought he was choosing them over her."

"How do you know all of this?"

"God of love, Jack, god of love."

"So, you're really why the fighting started. You had a hand in making the immortals fall in love with the mortals."

Amor shrugged, "I just shoot people. If a god is within my viewpoint, I'll shoot them too. I can't be blamed for doing my job."

Jack shook his head, not believing he wasn't going to take the blame for it all. Love could fix and destroy almost anything.

"I have to go. I still have work to do." Amor said, standing finally and throwing his bow across his shoulders, "Congratulations, by the way."

They smiled as he left, watching the red magic trail disappear behind him in the sky. Jack pulled her closer and they both reveled in the delight of finally being able to be together. Three hundred years and they didn't have to hide anymore.

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_Questions? One more chapter, folks! I took my time writing this chapter because I have really enjoyed writing this story. You guys have been fantastic! I really appreciate everyone's support._


	27. Epilogue

The wind carried him effortlessly. It was one of his favorite things to do, riding the wind. It brought him so much joy just to be able to fly over the world and yell as loud as he wanted with only having his few believers hear and the other immortals stare. By now they had gotten used to his jovial yells and ignored him completely. He knew some of them assumed he was up to no good, but most of the time he was just happy. His pranks had become less and less over the months, but occasionally he would join Loki in on one.

The clouds were thinning and he could see a hurricane forming over the ocean. He laughed, swopping lower to greet his monstrous friend. Poseidon saw him, gathering the low winds and speeding towards him. Immediately, they began to race. The larger god was slower, barely keeping up with the carefree spirit and eventually let the hurricane hit the country below. Jack laughed, cheering victoriously and let the wind carry him away.

He could always tell when someone shared his current, so when the wind dipped and pushed harder, he knew someone was speeding forward to join him. He looked over his shoulder, still smiling and saw Hermes reading a roll of parchment eagerly.

"Jack! You'll never believe what Phoebus has done this time." The messenger said, gaining on him. Jack had learned quickly to ignore him whenever he wished to gossip. The Guardian didn't really care to get into other's business and now that all restrictions had been removed, excluding mortals, he found them to be less interesting than he had originally thought. They lived their lives just like everyone else. They all had their own tasks and duties, but on the rare occasions they had nothing to do is when they would meet up. Jack shrugged the messenger away, deciding to fly lower.

In Greece, he saw Amor laughing and shooting unsuspecting mortals. Jack could see the red magic trails hovering over the city and all of the dewy eyed people wandering around. Jack used to cringe at the sight of all the love, but now he smiled brightly. He was glad people could experience that kind of love, even if it was only for a short amount of time. Eair was clutching to Amor's arm tightly, talking quickly in his ear. Jack waved to them, freezing the statue they were perched on as he passed. He had nothing against the two of them together, but he did enjoy the shouts of surprise from them whenever he got too close.

In Greenland, Jack saw Bunny and Gaia wandering in the cold, but green grounds. Everyone had noticed a difference in Mother Nature since she had given up on the rules. A small amount of the gods were outraged by her sudden decision, but slowly, they began to accept it. She wasn't nearly as moody and certainly less aggressive towards everyone. Now, no one could see Gaia without Bunny and it thrilled them all, especially Jack and Clementia.

Jack crept across the earth as this side was falling into darkness. Nighttime swept across the country and Jack hadn't realized how far he had actually gotten until he saw a tiny green and blue form flying towards him. He smiled toothily, knowing exactly who would leave the stream and greet him. He rubbed her feathers affectionately once she landed on his shoulder. She was carrying a tooth and she had said it was Jamie's. Jack laughed, wishing he had been there for the adventure the boy surely had when he lost it. She chirped happily before she left, joining her other companions.

The next sight he came upon was the most expected. Although the fight with Hades had brought most of them together and they all left with a little more of an understanding, Loki and Theros were the ones that finally decided to stop fighting it. Both gods were mischievous, even though Theros didn't like to admit it. She spent more of her time trying to keep Loki from harming anyone, but she was also now joining in on his games. Jack was surprised how much she was like Gaia. The deity wanted to be a leader and a good example, much like Clementia, so they denied themselves love and fun. The battle with Hades seemed to have opened all of their eyes.

Amor had spoken of immense power true loves could have once they joined together. Jack had noticed the change nearly immediately. Not only was it easier for him to make his wintery magic, but the influence on others was easier. Somehow, he and Clementia had shared powers. She carried his frost skills, using them only when she had been burnt after helping someone. But Jack was able to speak to others and have a more sense of sympathy whenever he would cause his troubles. It wasn't like he stopped his pranks, but he was more wary of the consequences. But the real power, as Gaia elaborated on, was if they decided to have offspring. She had said that combining two immortals was difficult, but once it was done, the child would have more power and more strength than any others. That was the product of making a child from true love. Gaia had had children through affairs and pure lust, resulting in children that were powerful, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The winds were colder; carrying snow in them the closer he got to North's large home. Random black dots were shuffling through the snow and Jack knew they were some of the yetis. The expansion of the Santoff Clausen was still underway and Jack only felt slightly bad for having to make it snow while they worked. They did live in the North Pole, so he was sure they didn't mind as much, but he still didn't like hearing them grumble under their breaths whenever they would pass by him. He didn't know yetish, but he could figure out what they were saying. North had ordered them to make a small wing for Jack and Clementia. The couple didn't ask for the privacy, but North knew that they had been considering Gaia's words. Their combined powers were impressive, but they had always discussed children when they were mortals. Now that they were finally able to be together and capable to have children, they didn't see anything stopping them.

Jack landed on the half built landing; only two walls were still exposed. His eyes lit up when he saw her standing there and greeting him. His bare feet shuffled over the dirty wood floors and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pressing his lips against hers instantly. She never minded the cold and now that his icy power was coursing through her, she enjoyed it. Their moment was interrupted shortly as Phil walked in, yelling behind him and silently pushing the couple out. They still had work to do and Phil wasn't against throwing Jack out into the wind like he used to do. The yeti slammed the door behind them, but Jack laughed and froze to door to the frame.

Clementia only shook her head, walking through the workshop until she found the next best exit for her.

"Ready?" She asked, locking her arm through his.

"Let's go." Jack smiled, ready for their next adventure. He had taken care of all of the snow days so he could join her in her compassionate adventures. They weren't always together, but when they were, it was more powerful and full of more love than before.

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_Okay, I have some HUGE thanks to give to people. These people have been stuck to this story for a long time and I love it. I appreciate that they kept up with it and loved it all. I would probably have given up on this story if they didn't keep me going. _

_Special thanks to EmmerzK!_

_Darling-Stardusted-Traverser, Guest, and dancingcartoon! You guys have been wonderful and I thank you!Thank you thank you thank you!  
_

_By the way, I feel like I set myself up for a sequel. Do you guys think so too?_


	28. Author's Note

Hey!

If you're interested, the sequel to this story is call Break the Sky.


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